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LIBRARY 

OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


Received        /v  C^  ^'        •  '  ^^ 
zAcccssionsNoO  /^O^  »  CLns  No. 


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4 


Fig.  58. — The  Venus  of  Milo.     (St-d  page  87.) 


AN     OUTLINE     HISTORY     OF 


SCULPTURE 


BEGINNERS  AND  STUDENTS 


COMPLETE  INDEXES  AND  NUMEROUS 
ILLUSTRA  TIONS 


BY 

CLARA   ERSKINE    CLEMENT 

AUTHOR    OF    "  PAINTING    FOR    BEGINNERS    AND     STUDENTS,"    "  HAND-BOOK    OF    LEGENDARY 
AND    MYTHOLOGICAL    ART,"     ETC.,    ETC. 


THIRD    EDITION 


NEW   YORK 

FREDERICK   A.    STOKES    COMPANY 

MDCCCXCIII 


^%'^ 


<y 


5J305' 


Copyright.  iSSs, 
By  white,  stokes,  &  ALLEN 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 


Ancient  Sculpture: 
Egypt,  . 
Assyria.   . 


•       •        « 


PAGE 

I 

lO 


CHAPTER  M. 


Greek  Sculpture,    . 


i8 


CHAPTER  HI. 
Ancient  Italian  Sculpture,    . 


•  o  • 


82 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Mediaeval    Sculpture,   from  the    Fifth    to    the    Fif= 

TEENTH  Century, 105 


CHAPTER  V. 
Italian  Sculpture  in  the  Fifteenth  Century,        .       .    136 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Sculpture  in  Germany,    France,   England,  and  Spain, 
FROM  1450  TO  1550,     ........ 


160 


vi  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

PAGE 

Italian    Sculpture    in    the  Sixteenth   Century — Cel- 
lini, Michael  Angelo,  and  Others,         .       .       .       .181 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
European  Sculpture  from  Michael  Angelo  to  Canova,    213 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Canova,  Thorwaldsen,  and  Other  Recent  Sculptors,   .    235 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Venus  of  Milo,  ..... 

Statue  of  Cephren  in  the  Museum  at  Cairo, 
Various  Kinds  of  Dogs,         .... 

Androsphinx,       ..... 

Kriosphinx,   ...... 

The  Great  Sphinx,  .... 

Hieracosphinx,  ..... 

The  Colossi  at  Thebes,   .... 

Polishing  a  Colossal  Statue,  .  .  . 

Mode  of  Transporting  a  Colossus  from  the  Quarries  (from  a  lithographic 
Drawing),      ..... 

Statue  of  Sardanapalus  I.   (from  Nimrud), 

Lion-Hunt  (from  Nimrud), 

Wounded  Lion  Biting  a  Chariot-wheel, 

Arm-chair  or  Throne  (Khorsabad), 

Mode  of  Drawing  the  Bow  (Koyunjik), 

Lion  Devouring  Deer,     .... 

Heracles,  Triton,  and  Nereids, 

Heracles  and  the  Cecrops, 

Actaeon  and  his  Dogs,  .... 

From  the  Harpy  Monument,  London,   . 

Figures  from  the  Pediment  of  the  Temple  of  Minerva,  at  -^gina, 

Archaistic  Artemis  at  Naples,     . 

The  Discobolus  (Myron),      .... 

Athenian  Coins  with  the  Minerva  Promachos, 
Coin  of  Elis  with  the  Olympian  Zeus, 
Bust  of  Jupiter  found  at  Otricoli,  .         .  . 

Torso  of  a  Statue  of  Theseus  (?), 


Frontisp 

iece 

. 

3 

5 

. 

6 

6 

. 

7 

8 

. 

9 

ID 

ir 

12 

. 

13 

15 

• 

i6 

17 

• 

22 

23 

• 

23 

24 

. 

25 

27 

. 

2S 

30 

. 

34 

36 

• 

37 

38 

Vlll 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


From  the  Frieze  of  the  Parthenon, 

The  Five  Central  Figures, 

Youths  Preparing  to  join  the  Cavalcade,    . 

Horsemen  Starting,         .... 

Procession  of  Cavalry,         .... 

Procession  of  Chariots,  .  .  • 

Train  of  Musicians  and  Youths,     .  .  . 

Cows  for  Sacrifice,  .... 

Train  of  Noble  Maidens,     .... 

Head  of  Asclepius  (in  the  British  Museum),  . 

A  Wounded  Amazon  (Cresilas), 

Statue  of  Pericles  (Cresilas), 

Eirene  and  the  Young  Plutus  (Cephisodotus),       . 

Portrait  of  Mausolus,     .... 

From  the  Frieze  of  the  Mausoleum, 

The  Eros  of  Centocelle, 

Niobe  and  her  Youngest  Daughter, 

Brother  and  Sister,  .... 

The  Eldest  Daughter,  .... 

A  Niobid,  ..... 

Ganymede  (after  Leochares), 

Monument  of  Lysicrates  (Athens), 

Bacchus  and  Lion  (from  the  Lysicrates  Monument), 

The  Apoxyomenos  of  Lysippus, 

The  Laocoon  Group, 

The  Farnese  Bull, 

Gallic  Warrior  (Venice), 

The  Dying  Gaul, 

Boy  and  Goose, 

Spinario,  . 

Venus  de'  Medici,    . 

The  Farnesian  Hercules, 

The  Apollo  Belvedere, 

Head  of  Apollo  Belvedere, 

The  Steinhauser  Head, 

The  Stroganoff  Apollo,   . 

Diane  a  la  Bic/ie, 

Alhcna  of  the  Capitol,   . 

Triumphal  Procession  from  Arch  of  Titus, 

From  the  Reliefs   of  Trajan  s  Column, 

Portrait  of  Sophocles, 

Statue  of  Augustus, 

Agrippina  the  Elder, 


PAGE 

.  43 
44 

.  45 
46 

46 

47 

.     47 

48 

.     48 

50 
.     52 

52 
.     56 

57 
.     58 

60 
.     62 

63 
.     64 

65 
.     66 

67 

.  68 
69 

.  75 
77 

.     78 

79 
.     80 

81 
.     86 

89 
.     90 

91 

.  91 
92 

.  95 
96 

.     97 

99 

.   Id 

102 

.    103 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


Statue  of  St.  Peter,         .... 

From  the  Cathedra  of  Maximianus, 

Diptych  (Zurich),  .... 

From  the  Fa9ade  of  Chartres  Cathedral,     . 

From  the  North  Transept  of  Rheims  Cathedral, 

From  the  West  Fagade  of  Strasburg  Cathedral, 

Duke  Robert  of  Normandy,         .  .  , 

Ivory  Relief  (Hunting  Scene), 

Relief  by  Nicola  Pisano  (Lucca), 

Relief  from  the  Pulpit  at  Pisa  (Nicola  Pisano), 

Campo  Santo  of  Pisa  (Giovanni  Pisano), 

Relief  by  Jacopo  della  Querela  (Bologna), 

From  the  Eastern  Gates  (showing  compartments  6,  8, 

The  Annunciation  (Donatello), 

Statue  of  St.  George  (Donatello), 

Dancing  Boys  (Luca  della  Robbia), 

Boy  with  Dolphin  (Verocchio), 

Statue  of  Colleoni  (Verocchio), 

Terra-cottas  from  the  Ospedale  Grande  (Milan), 

Count  Eberhard  von  Grumbach  (Rimpar), 

Justice,     ...... 

The  Three  Wise  Virgins, 

Tomb  of  St.  Sebald  (Nuremberg),  .  . 

Peter  Vischer's  Statue, 

St.  Sebald  and  the  Burning  Icicles  (Vischer), 

Peter  (Vischer),  .... 

John  (Vischer),     ..... 

Man  and  Geese  (Labenwolf),  .          .    . 

Pharisee,  Levite  (Rustici),  .  .  , 

Bacchus  (Jacopo  Sansovino), 

Perseus  (Benvenuto  Cellini), 

Michael  Angelo's  Angel  (Bologna), 

Pieta  (Michael  Angelo),  .... 

Michael  Angelo's  David, 

Giuliano  de'  Medici  (Michael  Angelo),  . 

Statue  of  Moses  (Michael  Angelo), 

Mercury  (Giovanni  da  Bologna),  .  . 

Relief  by  Berruguete  (Valladolid), 

Rape  of  Proserpine  (Bernini),  . 

Caryatide  (Quellinus), 

Heads  of  Dying  Warriors  (Schluter),  . 

The  Great  Elector  (Schluter), 

The  Three  Graces  (Canova), 


and  lo) 


IX 

PAGE 

io6 
109 
no 

113 
118 
120 
121 

.  124 
128 

.  129 
132 

.  138 
141 

.  143 
144 

.  147 

149 
.  150 

156 
.  169 

170 
.  170 

172 
.  173 

174 
.  175 

175 
.  176 

183 
.  185 

191 

.  197 
199 

,  201 
205 

.  207 

215 
.  217 

225 
.  231 

232 
.  233 

241 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Hebe  (Canova),         .             .             •             •  •            •            •            '  ^"^^ 

Ariadne  and  the   Panther  (Dannecker),  .             .             •             .249 

Jason  (Thorvvaldsen),            .             .             .  •             •             •             •  ^56 

Ganymede  and  the  Eagle  (Thorwaldsen),  .             .             .             .260 

The  Three  Graces  (Thorwaldsen),  .             .  .             .             •             •261 

Statue  of  Queen  Louise  (Rauch),            .  .             .            •            .270 
Nymph  (by  Bosio),                           ..••••  273 


SCULPTURE. 


CHAPTER   I. 

ANCIENT   SCULPTUR 
EGYPT. 


NO  one  can  speak  with  exactness  as  to  the  time  when 
sculpture  was  first  practised  by  the  Egyptians  ;  we 
only  know  that  it  was  a  very  long  time  ago.  But  we  do 
know  that  in  the  time  of  the  twelfth  dynasty,  which  dates 
from  2466  B.C.,  sculpture  had  reached  a  stage  of  excellence 
such  as  could  only  have  resulted  from  the  experience  of 
many  years  of  training  and  practice  in  this  art. 

In  the  Egyptian  collection  of  the  Louvre,  at  Paris,  there 
is  the  memorial  stone  of  an  old  Egyptian  sculptor  which  has 
an  inscription  that  reads  as  if  he  had  written  it  himself  ;  this 
was  the  way  by  which  Egyptians  made  these  inscriptions 
sound  as  if  the  dead  themselves  spoke  to  those  who  were 
still  alive.  This  sculptor's  name  was  Martisen,  and  he 
lived  about  forty-four  centuries  ago.  Brugsch-Bey,  a  very 
learned  writer  on  Egypt,  says  :  **  He  calls  himself  '  a  mas- 
ter among  those  who  understand  art,  and  a  plastic  artist,' 
who  *  was  a  wise  artist  in  his  art.'  He  relates  in  succession 
his  knowledge  in  the  making  of  statues,  in  every  position, 


2  SCULPTURE. 

according  to  prescribed  use  and  measure  ;  and  brings  for- 
ward, as  his  particular  invention,  an  etching  with  colors,  if 
I  have  rightly  understood  the  expression,  '  which  can 
neither  be  injured  by  fire  nor  washed  off  by  water  ;  '  and. 
as  a  further  explanation  of  this,  states  that  '  no  man  has 
arisen  who  has  been  able  to  do  this  except  himself  alone 
and  the  eldest  son  of  his  race,  whom  God's  will  has  created. 
He  has  arisen  able  to  do  this,  and  the  exercise  of  his  hand 
has  been  admired  in  masterly  works  in  all  sorts  of  precious 
stones,  from  gold  and  silver  to  ivory  and  ebony.'  " 

There  is  no  doubt  but  that  Martisen  and  his  son,  who 
was  named  Usurtasen,  were  sculptors  at  the  time  when 
Egyptian  art  reached  its  highest  point. 

The  earliest  works  of  Egyptian  sculpture  are  the  bas- 
reliefs  found  in  the  chambers  of  the  tombs  ;  the  walls  are 
almost  covered  with  them,  and  they  are  painted  with  colors 
which  are  still  bright  and  fresh,  though  more  than  four 
thousand  years  have  passed  since  they  were  put  on.  The 
subjects  of  these  reliefs  are  taken  from  the  life  of  the  per- 
sons buried  in  the  tombs,  and  even  their  possessions  and 
occupations  are  thus  represented.  These  sculptures  were 
made  by  tracing  the  designs  on  the  stone  and  then  cutting 
it  away  between  the  figures.  The  mode  of  arrangement  in 
these  reliefs  does  not  satisfy  our  ideas  of  what  it  should  be. 
It  seems  as  if  the  artists  had  no  plan  of  their  work  in  their 
minds — no  aim  as  to  what  the  effect  should  be  when  finished. 
On  the  contrar)%  the  reliefs  impress  us  as  if  the  sculptors 
made  one  figure,  and  then  added  another  and  another  in 
such  a  way  as  to  represent  the  fact  they  wished  to  tell  with- 
out any  attention  to  the  beauty  of  the  whole  ;  and  so  it 
does  not  seem  as  if  there  was  any  unity  in  them,  but  as  if 
the  large  bas-reliefs  were  made  up  of  disjointed  parts  which 
in  one  sense  really  have  no  relation  to  each  other. 

The  same  is  true  of  the  Egyptian  statues.     It  appears  as 
if  the  different  parts  might  have  been   made  separately  or 


ANCIENT   SCULPTURE — EGYPl. 


even  by  different  sculptors,  and  then  joined  together.  All 
this  is  because  the  Egyptians  seemed  to  think  of  an  object 
in  parts  and  not  as  a  whole.  Then,  too,  the  position  of  the 
early  statues  was  so  unnatural  and  awkward.  The  arms 
were  placed  close  to  the  sides  of  the  body,  and  there  was 
no  separation  between  the  legs  ;  and  though  in  some  of  their 
articles  of  furniture,  their 
pottery,  and  in  the  details 
of  their  architecture,  the 
Egyptians  made  a  great  ad- 
vance, they  did  not  equally 
improve  in  their  sculpture. 

One  great  hindrance  to 
the  progress  of  Egyptian 
sculpture  was  the  fact  that 
figures  were  never  represent- 
ed in  action.  They  were 
not  figures  moving  and  liv- 
ing in  stone  ;  they  were  like 
figures  petrified  and  fixed  : 
they  were  statues,  and  no 
one  can  forget  this  for  a  mo- 
ment while  looking  at  them. 
I  can  learn  of  but  one  Egyp- 
tian figure  sculptured  as  if 
in  action  ;  this  is  a  quoit- 
thrower  in  the  Tombs  of  the 
Kings.  A  sitting  statue, 
whether  of  a  man  or  a  wom- 
an, had  the  hands  rested  on  the  knees  or  held  across  the 
breast  (Fig.  i). 

There  were  very  few  groups  in  Egyptian  sculpture,  and 
these  seldom  had  more  than  two  figures.  It  was  customary 
to  represent  a  husband  and  wife  sitting  on  the  same  chair 
holding  each   other's  hands,  or  having  their  arms  around 


Fig.  I. — Statue  of  Cephren  in 
THE  Museum  at  Cairo. 


4  SCULPTURE. 

one  another's  waists  or  shoulders.  Sometimes  the  principal 
figure  is  of  large  size,  and  the  inferior  persons  are  made 
much  smaller  and  placed  at  the  sides  of  the  larger  figure. 
In  short,  very  few  attitudes  are  represented  in  Egyptian 
sculpture,  and  it  almost  seems  as  if  there  must  have  been 
fixed  rules  for  a  certain  limited  number  of  positions  after 
which  all  sculptured  figures  were  made. 

In  spite  of  this  sameness  and  stiffness,  Egyptian  sculpt- 
ure is  remarkable,  and  it  is  probable  that  if  they  had  not 
been  fettered  by  prejudices  and  rules  the  Egyptians  would 
have  excelled  both  in  sculpture  and  painting. 

The  sides  of  obelisks  and,  more  especially,  the  walls  of 
temples  were  covered  with  sculptures  which  gave  the  his- 
tory of  kings — of  their  wars  and  conquests,  and  of  their 
great  works  in  their  kingdoms.  The  sculptures  upon  the 
temple  walls  could  be  estimated  by  square  rods,  or  even 
acres,  better  than  by  lesser  measures.  Their  amount  and 
the  labor  it  required  to  make  them  are  simply  marvellous. 

I  will  describe  the  subjects  depicted  upon  one  inner  wall 
in  the  palace-temple  of  Medemet  Haboo,  and  will  quote 
from  Wilkinson's  *  Egypt  and  Thebes."  On  the  west  wall 
"  the  Egyptian  princes  and  generals  conduct  the  *  captive 
chiefs  '  into  the  presence  of  the  king.  He  is  seated  at  the 
back  of  his  car,  and  the  spirited  horses  are  held  by  his  at- 
tendants on  foot.  Large  heaps  of  hands  are  placed  befdre 
him,  which  an  officer  counts,  one  by  one,  as  the  other  notes 
down  their  number  on  a  scroll  ;  each  heap  containing  three 
thousand,  and  the  total  indicating  the  returns  of  the 
enem.y's  slain.  The  number  of  captives,  reckoned  one 
thousand  in  each  line,  is  also  mentioned  in  the  hieroglyphics 
above,  where  the  name  of  the  Rebo  points  out  the  nation 
against  whom  this  war  was  carried  on.  Their  flowing 
dresses,  striped  horizontally  with  blue  or  green  bands  on  a 
white  ground,  and  their  long  hair  and  aquiline  noses  give 
them  the  character  of  an   Eastern  nation  in  the  vicinity  of 


ANCIENT   SCULPTURE — EGYPT. 


Assyria  and  Persia,  as  their  name  reminds  us  of  the  Rhibii 
of  Ptolemy,  whom  he  places  near  the  Caspian."   .   .   . 

The  suite  of  this  historical  subject  continues  on  the 
south  wall.  The  king,  returning  victorious  to  Egypt,  pro- 
ceeds slowly  in  his  car,  conducting  in  triumph  the  prisoners 
he  has  made,  who  walk  beside  and  before  it,  three  others 
being  bound  to  the  axle.  Two  of  his  sons  attend  as  fan- 
bearers,  and  the  several  regiments  of  Egyptian  infantry, 
with  a  corps  of  their  allies,  under  the  command  of  these 
princes,  marching 
in  regular  step  and 
in  the  close  ar- 
ray of  disciplined 
troops,  accompany 
their  king.  He 
arrives  at  Thebes, 
and  presents  his 
captives  to  Amen- 
Ra  and  Mut,  the 
deities  of  the  city, 
who  compliment 
him,  as  usual,  on 
the  victory  he  has 
gained,  and  the 
overthrow  of  the 
enemy  he  has 
**  trampled  be- 
neath his  feet." 

This      descrip- 
tion of  these  bas- 
reliefs,    which    are 
usually  painted,   will  give  an   idea  of   the  great  works   of 
Egyptian  sculptors. 

The  representation  of  the  animals  in  these  sculptures  is 
as  successful  as  any  part  of  them.     There  being  no  inteU 


Fig.  2. — Various  Kinds  of  Dogs. 


SCULPTURE. 


Fig.  3. — Androsphinx. 


lectual  expression  required,  they  are  more  pleasing  than  the 
human  beings,  with  their  set,  unchanging  features  and  ex- 
pression. The  Egyptians  had  several  breeds  of  dogs,  and 
the  picture  here  (Fig.  2)  is  made  up  from  the  dogs  found 
in  the  sculptures — No.  i, 
hound  ;  2,  mastiff  ;  3, 
turnspit;  4,  5,  fox-dogs; 
6,  7,  greyhounds. 

One  of  the  figures  of- 
ten repeated  by  the  sculp- 
tors of  Egypt  was  the 
Sphinx.  The  colossal  and 
most  famous  one  (Fig.  5) 
is  not  far  from  the  great 
pyramid,  and  has  the  form 
of  a  recumbent  lion  with  a  human  head.  It  is  one  hundred 
and  seventy-two  feet  long,  and  is  the  Sphinx  of  the  world  ; 
but  there  were  great  numbers  of  these  strange  figures  in 
Egypt — in  some  cases  there  were  avenues  leading  to  the 
temples  bordered  by  them  on  each  side.     The  form  of  the 

Sphinx  was  intended  to 
express  some  spiritual 
thought  to  the  Egyptians, 
and  the  stories  about  it  are 
very  interesting.  Its  form 
certainly  denotes  the  union 
of  physical  and  mental 
power.  The  form  of  which 
w^e  have  spoken  as  being 
that  of  the  great  Sphinx  is 
called  the  audrospJiinx  (Fig. 
3).  Another  has  the  body  of  the  lion  with  the  head  of  the 
ram,  and  is  called  the  kriospJiinx  (Fig.  4)  ;  still  another  has 
the  same  body  and  the  head  of  a  hawk  ;  this  is  called  the 
hicracosphinx  (Fig.  6).     They  all  typified  the  king,  without 


Fig.  4. — Kriosphinx. 


M 


H 
m 
O 

> 

W 


SCULPTURE. 


doubt,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  various  heads  were  so 
given  to  show  respect  for  the  different  gods  who  were  repre- 
sented with  the  heads  of  these  creatures.  Sometimes  the 
androsphinx  has  human  hands  in  place  of  the  lion's  paws. 
The  winged  Sphinx  has  been  found  in  Egypt,  but  it  is  rare. 
The  colossal  statues  of  Egypt  are  very  wonderful  on  ac- 
count of  their  vast  weight  and  size.  The  most  famous  are 
two  which  stand  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Nile  at  Thebes 
(Fig.  7).  Each  of  these  colossi  is  made  from  a  single  block 
of  stone  such  as  is  not  found  within  several  days'  journey 
of  the  place  where  they  stand.  They  are  forty-seven  feet 
hieh,  and  contain  eleven  thousand  five  hundred  cubic  feet 

each.  But  a  third  is  still 
larger  ;  it  represents  the 
King  Rameses  II.,  and, 
when  whole,  was  of  a 
single  stone,  and  weighed 
eight  hundred  and  eighty- 
seven  tons.  It  was  brought 
from  Assouan  to  Thebes, 
a  distance  of  one  hundred 
and  thirty-eight  miles. 
It  is  wonderful  to  think 
of  moving  such  a  vast  weight  over  such  a  distance,  and 
one  would  naturally  wish  to  know  also  how  the  sculptors 
could  work  on  such  a  statue.  The  plate  here  given  (Fig.  8) 
shows  the  process  of  polishing  a  statue,  and  the  following 
one  (Fig.  9)  illustrates  the  mode  of  moving  one  when  fin- 
ished. These  representations  are  found  in  tombs  and  grot- 
toes, and  tell  us  plainly  just  what  we  wish  to  know  about 
these  things. 

I  have  now  pointed  out  the  marked  peculiarities  of 
Egyptian  sculpture,  and  before  leaving  the  subject  will 
call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  in  most  cases  it  was  used 
in  connection  with  and  almost  as  a  part  of  Egyptian  archi- 


FlG.    6.— HiERACOSPHINX. 


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SCULPTURE. 


tecture.  In  the  tombs  the  bas-reliefs  are  for  the  decoration 
of  the  walls  and  to  finish  the  work  of  the  architect,  while  at 
the  same  time  they  are  an  interesting  feature  of  the  art  of 
the  nation  and  period.     In  the  temple  palaces  this  is  also 

true  —  though 
the  reliefs  serve 
the  purpose  of 
telling  the  his- 
tory of  the 
kings  ;  they  are, 
as  it  were,  fram- 
ed into  and 
make  a  part  of 
the  architectur- 
al effect.  The 
obelisks,  colos- 
sal figures  and 
Sphinxes  were 
placed  before 
the  grand  build- 
ings, and  made 
a  part  of  them 
architecturally.  In  general  terms  we  may  say  that  sculp- 
ture never  became  an  independent  art  in  Egypt,  but  was 
essentially  wedded  to  architecture  ;  and  this  fact  largely 
accounts  for  that  other  truth  that  sculpture  never  reached 
the  perfection  in  Egypt  that  it  promised,  or  the  excellence 
that  would  have  seemed  to  be  the  natural  result  of  its  earli- 
est attainments. 

ASSYRIA. 

The  works  of  sculpture  in  Assyria  consisted  of  statues, 
bas-reliefs,  statuettes  in  clay,  carvings  in  ivor>%  metal  cast- 
ings, and  some  smaller  works,  such  as  articles  for  jewelr>% 
made  in  minute  imitation  of  larger  works  in  sculpture. 


Fig.  8. — Polishing  a  colossal  Statue. 


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12 


SCULPTURE. 


The  statues  found  in  Assyria  are  by  no  means  beautiful, 
according  to  our  idea  of  beauty.  They  are  as  set  and  stiff 
in  design  as  the  Egyptian  works  of  this  sort,  and  they  have 
suffered  so  much  injury  from  the  weather  and  from  violence 
that  we  cannot  judge  of  the  manner  in  which  they  were 
originally  finished. 

The  number  of  Assyrian  statues  that  have  been  found 
is  small  ;  this  one  given  here  (Fig.  lo),  of  Sardanapalus  I., 

is  in  the  best  state  of  preservation  of 
any  of  them.      It  is  smaller  than  life 
size,    being    about    forty-two    inches 
high.      The   statuettes   of   the   Assy- 
rians are  less  artistic  than  the  statues. 
They   are   made    from    a    clay  which 
turned    red    in   baking,    and   are   col- 
ored so  as  to  resemble  Greek  pottery. 
They  are  almost  always  of  a  grotesque 
appearance,    and     usually    represent 
gods   or   genii.     They  also    combine 
human    and    animal    forms   in   a  less 
noble  and  artistic  way  than  is  done  in 
the   Egyptian    representation    of    the 
Sphinx.     There  are  also  small  figures 
of  animals  in  terra-cotta,  principally 
dogs  and  ducks.     But  the  large  and 
small   statues    of    the   Assyrians   are 
their     most     unimportant    works     in 
sculpture.      It    is   in    their  bas-reliefs 
that  their  greatest  excellence  is  seen, 
and  in  them   alone  their  progress  in 
art  can  be  traced.     This  sort  of  sculp- 
ture seems  to  have  been  used  by  the 
Assyrians    just    as    painting    was    used    in    Italy    after   the 
Renaissance.      It  was  their  mode  of  expressing  everything. 
Through  it  they  gave  expression  to  their  religious  feeling  ; 


Fig.  io. — Statie  of 

Sardanapalus  I. 

Frotn  Nimriid. 


ANCIENT   SCULPTURE — ASSYRIA. 


13 


they  told  the  history  of  their  nation,  and  glorified  their 
kings  ;  they  represented  the  domestic  scenes  which  now 
make  the  subjects  of  genre  pictures  ;  and  even  imitated 
vegetables  and  fruits,  as  well  as  to  reproduce  landscapes 
and  architecture  in  these  pictures  cut  from  stone.  In 
truth,  it  is  chiefly  from  the  bas-reliefs  that  we  learn  the 
history  of  Assyria,  and  in  this  view  their  sculptures  are 
even  more  important  than  when  they  are  considered  merely 
from  an  artistic  view. 

The  most  ancient  palaces  at  Nimrud  furnish  the  earliest 
examples  of  bas-relief.     These  date  at  about  the  end  of  the 


Fig.  II. — Lion-hunt.     From  Nimrud, 

tenth  century  B.C.  One  striking  peculiarity  in  the  design 
is  that  all  the  figures,  both  men  and  animals,  are  given  in 
exact  profile.  In  spite  of  this  sameness  of  position  they 
have  much  spirit  and  action.  The  picture  of  a  lion-hunt 
given  here  (Fig.  1 1)  is  one  of  the  very  best  of  these  reliefs, 
and  you  will  notice  that  the  animal  forms  are  much  superior 
to  those  of  the  human  beings.  This  is  true  of  all  Assyrian 
art  in  all  its  stages.  In  these  oldest  bas-reliefs  there  are  no 
backgrounds  ;  but  later  on  these  are  added,  and  mountains, 
hills,  streams,  trees,  and  wild  animals  are  all  introduced  as 
details  of  the  general  design.     The  highest  state  of  this  art 


14  SCULPTURE. 

was  reached  about  650  B.C.  At  this  period  the  various 
forms  seem  to  be  more  varied  and  less  arranged  according 
to  some  rule.  The  human  faces  and  figures  are  more  deli- 
cately finished,  and  there  is  an  air  of  freedom  and  a  spirit  in 
the  handling  of  the  subjects  that  is  far  better  than  that  of 
any  other  time.  The  plants  and  trees  are  far  more  beauti- 
ful than  before. 

The  figures  of  animals,  too,  are  full  of  life  and  action  in 
this  period.  I  shall  only  give  one  illustration,  and  shall 
choose  the  head  of  a  lion,  probably  the  best  specimen  of 
animal  drawing  which  is  yet  known  in  Assyrian  art.  It 
represents  the  head  of  a  wounded  lion,  who,  in  his  agony, 
rushes  upon  a  chariot  and  seizes  the  wheel  with  his  teeth. 
The  drawling  of  this  head,  as  a  portrayal  of  agony  and  fierce- 
ness, compares  favorably  with  anything  of  the  same  kind  be- 
longing to  any  age  of  art,  either  classic  or  modern  (Fig.  12). 

There  is  a  question  which  has  not  yet  been  decided  as 
to  the  amount  of  color  used  on  the  Assyrian  bas-reliefs. 
From  the  traces  of  color  remaining  on  those  that  are  found 
in  the  excavations,  and  from  what  wg  know  of  the  use  of 
colors  on  the  buildings  to  which  the  bas-reliefs  belonged, 
we  may  be  sure  that  colors  were  used  on  them  ;  but  to  what 
extent  cannot  be  told.  It  may  have  been  applied  with  the 
freedom  of  the  Egyptians,  or  it  may  have  been  sparingly 
used,  as  was  the  manner  of  the  ancient  Greeks.  The  colors 
that  have  been  found  in  the  ruins  of  Assyria  are  white, 
black,  red  and  blue. 

Next  to  the  sculpture,  the  metal  work  of  the  Assyrians 
was  the  most  important  of  their  arts.  This  work  was  done 
in  three  ways  :  I.  Whole  figures  or  parts  of  figures  cast  in 
a  solid  shape.  II.  Castings  of  low  bas-reliefs.  III.  Em- 
bossed designs  made  chiefly  with  the  hammer,  but  finished 
with  the  graver.  In  the  solid  castings  there  are  only  ani- 
mal forms,  and  lions  are  far  more  numerous  than  any^  other 
creature.      Many  of  them  have  a  ring  fastened  to  the  back, 


Fig.  12. — Wounded  Lion  biting  a  Chariot-wheel.     From  the  North 

Palace,  Koyunjik. 


i6 


SCULPTURE. 


which  indicates  that  they  were  used  for  weights.  These 
castings  are  all  small  and  their  form  good  ;  but  we  have  no 
reason  to  think  that  the  Assyrians  could  make  large  metal 
castings. 

The  castings  in  relief  were  used  to  ornament  thrones, 
furniture,  and  perhaps  chariots.  They  were  fastened  in 
their  places  by  means  of  small  nails.  They  had  no  great 
merit.  The  embossed  or  hammered  work,  on  the  con- 
trary, is  artistic  and  very  curious.  Large  numbers  of  em- 
bossed bowls  and  dishes  have  been  found,  and  this  work 
was  used  for  the  end  of  sword-sheaths,  the  sides  of  chairs 
and  stools,  and  various  other  ornamental  purposes.  It  is 
probable  that  the  main  part  of  the  tables,  chairs,  and  so  on 
were  of  wood,  with  the  ornaments  in  embossed  metals.     All 

this  shows  the  Assy- 
rians to  have  been  an 
artistic  people,  and  to 
have  reached  an  inter- 
esting stage  in  their 
arts,  though  their  woiks 
are  coarse  and  imper- 
fect when  judged  by 
Greek  standards  or  by 
our  own  idea  of  what  is 
beautiful.  If  we  had 
the  space  to  consider 
all  the  various  designs 
of  the  bas-reliefs  in  de- 
tail, you  would  learn 
from  them  a  great  many 
interesting  facts  con- 
cerning the  domestic 
life  of  this  ancient  and  interesting  people.  From  them  we 
can  learn  all  about  the  costumes  worn  by  the  king  and  those 
of  lesser  rank  ;   can  sec  how  their  wars  were  carried  on,  and 


Fig.  13. — Arm-chair  or  Throne. 
Khorsabad. 


ANCIENT   SCULPTURE— ASSYRIA.  17 

what  their  chariots,  weapons,  and  equipments  were.  Their 
games,  amusements,  musical  instruments,  agricuhural  pur- 
suits, food,  and,  in  short,  everything  connected  with  their 
daily  life  is  plainly  shown  in  these  sculptures,  and,  as  I  have 
said  before,  the  whole  history  of  Assyria  is  better  studied 
from  them  than  from  any  other  one  source.  For  this  rea- 
son their  great  value  cannot  be  over-estimated  (Fig.  13). 

Other  very  ancient  nations  had  sculptors,  and  a  few 
remains  of  their  arts  still  exist.  This  is  true  of  the  Medes, 
Babylonians,  and  Persians  ;  but  the  general  features  of 
their  arts  resembled  those  of  the  Assyrians,  though  they 
were  less  advanced  than  that  nation,  and  have  left  nothing 
as  interesting  as  the  Egyptian  and  Assyrian  remains  which 
we  have  considered.  I  shall  therefore  leave  them  and  pass 
to  the  sculpture  of  Greece. 


j^?==^ 


Fig.  14. — Mode  of  drawing  the  Bow.     Koyunjik. 


CHAPTER    II. 


GREEK   SCULPTURE. 


WE  have  seen  that  the  Egyptians  and  Assyrians  were 
skilful  in  sculpture,  but  at  the  same  time  their  works 
have  not  moved  us  as  we  wish  to  be  moved  by  art  ;  there 
is  always  something  beyond  them  to  be  desired,  and  it 
remained  for  the  Greeks  to  attain  to  that  perfection  in 
sculpture  which  satisfies  all  our  nature  and  fills  our  high- 
est conceptions  of  beauty  and  grace.  In  truth,  in  Greece 
alone  has  this  perfection  in  plastic  art  existed,  and  since 
the  time  of  its  highest  excellence  there  no  other  nation  has 
equalled  the  examples  of  Greek  sculpture  which  still  exist, 
though  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  its  finest  works  have 
perished,  and  that  those  remaining  are  of  the  second  grade. 

There  are  many  reasons  for  the  high  artistic  attainments 
of  the  Greeks,  and  a  discussion  or  even  a  simple  statement 
of  them  would  require  an  essay  far  too  learned  and  lengthy 
for  the  scope  of  this  book  ;  but  I  will  speak  of  one  truth 
that  had  great  influence  and  went  far  to  perfect  Greek  art 
— that  is,  the  unbounded  love  of  beauty,  which  was  an  es- 
sential part  of  the  Greek  nature.  To  the  Greek,  in  fact, 
beauty  and  good  had  the  same  meaning — beatify  was  good, 
and  the  good  must  be  beautiful. 

Sculpture  deals  almost  exclusively  with  the  form  of 
man,  and  the  other  features  in  it  have  some  relation  to  the 
human  element  of  the  design  ;  and  it  would  have  been  im- 
possible for  a  true    Greek   to    represent    the    human  form 


GREEK   SCULPTURE.  I9 

Otherwise  than  beautiful.  A  writer  on  this  point  says  : 
"  The  chief  aim  of  the  enlightened  Greek,  his  highest  am- 
bition and  his  greatest  joy,  was  to  be  a  man  in  the  fullest 
sense  of  the  word — man  in  the  most  complete  development 
of  his  bodily  strength  and  beauty,  in  the  active  exercise  of 
the  keenest  senses,  in  the  greatest  because  tempered  enjoy- 
ment of  sensual  pleasure,  in  the  free  and  joyous  play  of  an 
intellect  strong  by  nature,  graced  and  guided  by  the  most 
exquisite  taste,  and  enlightened  by  the  sublimest  philoso- 
phy." Thus,  beauty  was  so  important  to  the  Greek  that 
every  parent  prayed  that  his  children  might  have  this  gift, 
and  the  names  of  beautiful  persons  were  engraved  upon 
pillars  set  where  all  could  read  them  ;  and  at  times  there 
were  competitions  for  the  prize  of  beauty. 

The  religion  of  the  Greek,  too,  taught  that  the  body 
was  the  beautiful  and  godlike  temple  of  his  soul  ;  and  the 
truth  that  human  beings  have  something  in  common  with  a 
higher  power  than  their  own  gave  him  a  great  respect  for 
humanity,  and,  in  truth,  he  felt  that  if  he  could  escape 
death  he  should  be  content  and  almost,  if  not  quite,  a  god. 
For  we  must  remember  that  the  gods  of  the  Greek  were  not 
all-wise,  all-powerful,  and  all-good,  as  we  believe  our  God 
to  be.  If  you  read  their  mythology  you  will  find  that  with 
the  power  of  the  god  much  imperfection  and  weakness  were 
mingled.  They  did  not  believe  that  Zeus  had  been  the 
greatest  god  from  the  beginning,  but  that  there  was  a  time 
when  he  had  no  power.  He  was  not  omniscient  nor  omni- 
present, and  was  himself  subject  to  the  decrees  of  Fate,  as 
when  he  could  not  save  his  loved  Sarpedon  from  death. 
Not  knowing  all  things,  even  the  gods  are  sometimes  rep- 
resented as  depending  upon  mortals  for  information,  and  all 
these  religious  views  tended  to  make  the  human  form  far 
more  noble  to  the  Greek  than  it  can  be  to  the  Christian, 
with  his  different  views  of  the  relations  of  God  and  man. 
Greek  sculpture  existed  in  very  early  days,  and  we  have 


20  SCULPTURE. 

vague  accounts  of  a  person  called  DAEDALUS,  who  seems  to 
have  been  a  wood-carver.  Many  cities  claimed  to  have 
been  his  birthplace,  and  no  one  can  give  any  clear  account 
of  this  ancient  artist.  He  is  called  the  inventor  of  the  axe, 
saw,  gimlet,  plummet-line,  and  a  kind  of  fish-glue  or  isin- 
glass. He  is  also  said  to  have  been  the  first  sculptor  who 
separated  the  arms  from  the  bodies  of  his  statues,  or  made 
the  feet  to  step  out  ;  he  also  opened  their  eyes,  and  there 
is  a  legend  that  the  statues  of  Daedalus  were  so  full  of  life 
that  they  were  chained  lest  they  should  run  away. 

We  call  the  time  to  which  Daedalus  belonged  the  pre- 
historic period,  and  his  works  and  those  of  other  artists  of 
his  day  have  all  perished.  Two  very  ancient  specimens  of 
sculpture  remain — the  Lion  Gate  of  Alycenae  and  the  Niobe 
of  Mount  Sipylus  ;  but  as  their  origin  is  not  known,  and 
they  may  not  be  the  work  of  Greek  artists,  it  is  best  for  us 
to  pass  on  to  about  700  B.C.,  when  the  records  of  individual 
artists  begin. 

Among  the  earliest  of  these  was  DiBUTADES,  of  whom 
Pliny  said  that  he  was  the  first  who  made  likenesses  in 
clay.  This  author  also  adds  that  Dibutades  first  mixed  red 
earth  with  clay,  and  made  the  masks  which  w^ere  fastened  to 
the  end  of  the  lowest  hollow  tiles  on  the  roofs  of  temples. 
Pliny  relates  the  following  story  of  the  making  of  the  first 
portrait  in  bas-relief. 

Dibutades  lived  in  Sicyon,  and  had  a  daughter  called 
sometimes  Kora,  and  again  Callirhoe.  She  could  not  aid 
her  father  very  much  in  his  work  as  a  sculptor,  but  she 
went  each  day  to  the  flower-market  and  brought  home 
flowers,  which  gave  a  very  gay  and  cheerful  air  to  her 
father's  little  shop.  Kora  was  very  beautiful,  and  many 
young  Greeks  visited  her  father  for  the  sake  of  seeing  the 
daughter.  At  length  one  of  these  youths  asked  Dibutades 
to  take  him  as  an  apprentice  ;  and  when  this  request  was 
granted  the   young   man  made    one    of   the  family  of  the 


GREEK   SCULPTURE.  21 

sculptor.  Their  life  was  one  of  simple  content.  The 
young  man  could  play  upon  the  reed,  and  his  education 
fitted  him  to  be  the  instructor  of  Kora.  After  a  time,  for 
some  reason  that  Pliny  does  not  mention,  it  was  best  for 
the  youth  to  go  away  from  the  artist's  home,  and  he  then 
asked  Kora  if  she  would  be  his  wife.  She  consented,  and 
vows  of  betrothal  were  exchanged,  while  they  were  sad  at 
the  thought  of  parting. 

The  last  evening  of  his  stay,  as  they  sat  together,  Kora 
seized  a  coal  from  the  brazier,  and  traced  upon  the  wall  the 
outline  of  the  face  that  was  so  dear  to  her  ;  and  she  did  this 
so  correctly  that  when  her  father  saw  it  he  knew  instantly 
from  what  face  it  had  been  drawn.  Then  he  wished  to  do 
his  part,  for  he  also  loved  the  young  man.  So  he  brought 
his  clay  and  filled  in  the  outline  which  Kora  had  drawn, 
and  so  went  on  to  model  the  first  portrait  in  bas-relief  that 
was  ever  made.  Thus  did  this  great  art  grow  out  of  the 
love  of  this  beautiful  maiden  of  Sicyon,  about  twenty-five 
hundred  years  ago. 

After  this  beginning  Dibutades  went  on  to  perfect  his 
art.  He  made  medallions  and  busts,  and  decorated  the 
beautiful  Grecian  structures  with  his  work,  and  work  in  bas- 
relief  became  the  most  beautiful  ornamentation  of  the 
splendid  temples  and  theatres  of  Greece.  He  also  founded 
a  school  for  modelling  at  Sicyon,  and  became  so  famous  an 
artist  that  several  Greek  cities  claim  the  honor  of  having 
been  his  birthplace. 

The  bas-relief  made  from  Kora's  outline  was  preserved 
in  the  Nymphasum  at  Corinth  for  almost  two  hundred 
years,  but  was  then  destroyed  by  fire.  She  married  her 
lover,  and  he  became  a  famous  artist  at  Corinth. 

We  have  said  that  accounts  of  individual  artists  exist 
from  about  700  B.C.;  but  these  accounts  are  of  so  general  a 
character  and  so  wanting  in  detail  that  I  shall  pass  on 
about  two  hundred  years,  after  saying  a  few  words  of  the 


2-2 


SCULPTURE. 


advance  made  in  the  arts  of  sculpture,  and  mentioning  a 
few  of  the  examples  which  remain  from  that  early  time, 
which  is  called  the  Archaic  period.  This  expression  not 
only  means  an  ancient  period  of  art,  but  carries  also  the 
idea  of  an  obsolete  art  —  of  something  that  is  not  only 
ancient,  but  something  that  is  no  longer  practised  in  the 
same  manner  or  by  the  same  people  as  existed  in  this 
ancient  or  archaic  time.  During  this  archaic  period  a  be- 
ginning was  made  in  many  branches  of  plastic  art.  There 
were  statues  in  metal  and  marble,  bas-reliefs  in  various 
kinds  of  stone  and  marble,  as  well  as  some  chryselephantine 
statues.  This  kind  of  work  is  often  said  to  have  been  in- 
vented by  Phidias,  but  the  truth  seems  to  be  that  he  was  not 
its  inventor,  but  carried  it  to  great  perfection.  These  chrys- 
elephantine statues  were  made  of  wood  and  then  covered 
with  ivory  and  gold  ;  the  ivory  was  used  for  the  flesh  parts 
of  the  statue,  and  gold  for  the  drapery  and  ornaments  of  the 
figure,  and  the  finished  work  was  very  brilliant  in  its  effect. 

The  principal  subjects  represented  in  the  sculpture  of 
the  archaic  period  were  connected  with  the  religion  of  the 

Greeks,  which 
is  known  to  us 
as  mythology. 
Most  statues 
were  of  the 
gods,  but  por- 
trait statues 
were  not  un- 
known, and  the 
custom  of  set- 
ting up  statues 
of  the  victors  in  the  Greek  games  dates  back  to  this  very 
early  time.  This  was  a  custom  which  afforded  a  large  field 
for  sculptors  to  work  in,  and  must  have  had  a  great  influ- 
ence to  give  life  and  progress  to  their  art. 


Fig.  15. — Lion  devouring  Deer. 


GREEK   SCULPTURE. 


23 


.  Of  the  remains  of  this  art  very  interesting  things  have 
been  written,  but  I  shall  speak  only  of  a  few  such  objects  of 
which  pictures  can  be  given  to  aid  you  in  understanding 


Fig.  t6. — Heracles,  Triton,  and  Nereids. 

about  them.  Among  the  earliest  reliefs  that  have  been 
preserved  are  those  now  in  the  Museum  of  the  Louvre,  at 
Paris,  which  were  found  in  the  ruins  of  a  Doric  temple  at 
Assos  (Fig.  15). 

The  various  designs  upon 
these  marbles  seem  to  have 
no  connection  with  each  oth- 
er, and  are  executed  in  a  rude 
manner.  The  most  interest- 
ing one  represents  Heracles, 
or  Hercules,  struggling  with  a 
Triton  (Fig.  16). 

The  female  figures  repre- 
sent Nereids,  who  are  terrified 
by  seeing  Heracles  in  contest 
with  the  sea-monster.  There 
are  many  proofs  that  these 
reliefs  belong  to  a  very  an- 
cient day. 

An  interesting  relief  from 
the  temple  of  Selinus  represents  Heracles  striding  off  with 
a  pole  across  his  shoulders,  to  which  are  hung  two  Cecrops 
who  had  robbed  and  tormented  him  (Fig.   17). 


Fig.  17. — Heracles  and  the 
Cecrops. 


24 


SCULPTURE. 


A  very  fine  work  is  also  from  Selinus,  and  represents 
Actaeon  torn  by  his  dogs.  The  mythological  story  was  that 
Zeus,  or  Jupiter,  was  angry  with  Actaeon  because  he  wished 

to  marry  Semele, 
and  the  great  god 
commanded  Arte- 
mis, or  Diana,  to 
throw  a  stag's  skin 
over  ActcCon,  so 
that  his  own  dogs 
would  tear  him. 
In  the  relief  Arte- 
mis stands  at  the 
left  (Fig.  18). 

There  is  in  the 
British  Museum  a 
monument  which 
was  discovered  at 
Xanthos  in  1838. 
It  is  thought  to 
have  been  made 
about  500  B.C., 
and  is  called  "The  Harpy  Monument."  It  is  a  tower, 
round  the  four  sides  of  which  runs  a  frieze  at  a  height  of 
about  twenty-one  feet  from  the  ground.  The  frieze  is  of 
white  marble,  and  is  let  into  the  frieze  which  is  of  sand- 
stone. The  Lycians,  in  whose  country  it  was  found,  were 
accustomed  to  bury  their  dead  at  the  top  of  such  towers. 

There  is  very  great  difference  of  opinion  among  scholars 
and  critics  concerning  the  meaning  of  the  various  scenes  in 
these  sculptures  ;  and  as  all  their  writing  is  speculation,  and 
no  one  knows  the  truth  about  it,  I  shall  only  say  that  it  is  a 
very  interesting  object  in  the  history  of  art,  and  shall  speak 
of  the  four  corner  figures  on  the  shortest  parts  of  the  frieze, 
from  which  the  whole  work  takes  its  name.     The  Harpies 


Fig.  18. — AcT/EON  and  his  Dogs. 


GREEK   SCULPTURE. 


25 


are  very  curious  ;  they  had  wings,  and  arms  like  human 
arms,  with  claws  for  hands,  and  feathered  tails.  Their 
bodies  are  egg-shaped,  which  is  a  very  strange  feature  in 
their  formation.  We  cannot  explain  all  these  different 
things,  but  there  is  little  doubt  that,  with  the  little  forms 
which  they  have  in  their  arms,  they  represent  the  messen- 
gers of  death  bearing  away  the  souls  of  the  deceased.  In 
the  Odyssey,  Homer  represents  the  Harpies  as  carrying  off 
the  daughters  of  King  Pandareus  and  giving  them  to  the 
cruel  Erinnyes  for  servants.  For  this  reason  the  Harpies 
were  considered  as  robbers,  and  whenever  a  person  sud- 
denly disappeared  it  was  said  that  they  had  been  carried  off 
by  Harpies  (Fig.  19). 


Fig.  19. — From  the  Harpy  Monument,  London, 

Before  leaving  this  subject  of  existing  sculptures  from 
the  fifth  century  B.C.,  I  will  speak  of  the  two  groups  which 
belonged  to  the  temple  of  Minerva  in  ^gina,  and  are  now 
in  the  Glyptothek  at  Munich.      The  city  of  ^gina  was  the 


26  SCULPTURE. 

principal  city  of  the  island  of  ^Egina,  which  was  in  the  gulf 
of  the  same  name,  near  the  south-west  coast  of  Greece. 
This  city  was  at  the  height  of  its  prosperity  about  475  B.C., 
at  which  time  a  beautiful  temple  was  built,  of  which  many 
columns  are  still  standing,  though  much  of  it  has  fallen 
down.  In  181 1  some  English  and  German  architects  visited 
this  place,  and  the  marbles  they  obtained  are  the  most 
remarkable  works  which  still  exist  from  so  early  a  period. 
Thorwaldsen,  tl)e  Danish  sculptor,  restored  these  reliefs, 
and  the  King  of  Bavaria  bought  them. 

Upon  the  western  pediment  there  were  eleven  figures 
which  represented  an  episode  in  the  Trojan  war  ;  it  was  the 
struggle  of  Ajax,  Ulysses,  and  other  Greek  warriors  to  obtain 
the  dead  body  of  Achilles,  which  was  held  by  the  Trojans. 
The  story  is  that  the  goddess  Thetis  had  dipped  her  son 
Achilles  in  the  river  Styx  for  the  purpose  of  making  him 
invulnerable,  or  safe  from  wounds  by  weapons.  But  as  she 
held  him  by  the  ankles  they  were  not  wetted,  and  so  he 
could  be  wounded  in  them.  During  the  siege  of  Troy 
Apollo  guided  the  arrow  of  Paris  to  this  spot,  and  the  great 
leader  of  the  Greeks  was  killed.  It  is  believed  that  the 
warrior  in  this  picture  who  is  about  to  send  his  arrow  is 
Paris."  In  the  central  or  highest  part  of  the  pediment  the 
goddess  Minerva  stands  and  tries  to  cover  the  fallen  body  of 
Achilles  with  her  shield.  These  figures  are  on  the  side 
where  the  space  grows  narrower.  You  can  judge  of  what 
the  action  and  spirit  of  the  whole  must  be  when  these 
smaller  figures  have  so  much.  We  are  sure  that  the  arrow 
will  shoot  out  with  such  force  as  must  carry  death  to  its 
victim,  and  the  second  warrior,  who  braces  himself  on  his 
feet  and  knee,  will  thrust  his  lance  with  equal  power 
(Fig.  20). 

There  are  traces  of  color  and  of  metal  ornaments  upon 
these  .^ginetan  statues  ;  the  weapons,  helmets,  shields, 
and  quivers  were  red  or  blue  ;  the  eyes,  hair,  and  lips  were 


GREEK   SCULPTURE. 


27 


Fig.  20. — Figures  from  the  Pediment  of  the  Temple  of  Minerva,  at  ^gina. 

painted,  and  there  are  marks  upon  the  garments  of  the  god- 
dess that  show  that  she  must  have  had  bronze  ornaments. 
There  was  a  famous  sculptor  of  ^gina  named  Gallon,  who 
lived  about  the  time  that  this  temple  was  built  ;  and  though 
it  is  not  known  to  be  so,  yet  many  critics  and  scholars 
believe  that  he  may  have  been  the  sculptor  of  these  works, 
because  they  resemble  the  written  descriptions  of  his  statues 
and  reliefs. 

There  was  a  period  which  we  call  archaistic,  and  by  this 
we  indicate  a  time  when  it  was  the  fashion  for  the  sculptors 
to  imitate  as  nearly  as  possible  the  works  of  the  true  archaic 
period.  It  has  constantly  happened  in  the  history  of  soci- 
ety that  fashion  has  ordained  this  same  thing,  though  the 
objects  of  imitation  have  varied  with  the  different  ages  and 
nations.  This  archaistic  "  craze"  to  imitate  old  sculptures 
was  at  its  height  in  the  times  of  the  Roman  emperors 
Augustus  and  Hadrian  ;  but  here  in  America  we  have  seen 
the  same  passion  manifested  in  the  desire  to  have  such 
furniture  as  Queen  Anne  and  her  people  admired,  or  such 
as  "came  over  in  the  Mayflower;"  and  when  the  true 
original  articles  were  no  longer  to  be  found  in  garrets  and 
out-of-the-way  places,  then  manufacturers  began  to  imitate 


28 


SCULPTURE. 


the  old  in  the  new,  and  one  can  now  buy  all  sorts  of  ancient- 
looking  furniture  that  is  only  just  from  the  workmen's 
hands. 

But  among  the  Greeks  there  was  a  second  motive  for 
reproducing  the  works  of  the  earlier  artists,  which  was  the 
fact  that  the  images  of  the  gods  and  such  articles  as  be- 
longed to  relicrious  services  were  sacred  in  their  earliest 
forms,  and  were  venerated  by  the  people.  Thus  it  followed 
that  the  advance  and  change  in  the  taste  of  the  people  and 
the  skill  of  the  artists  was  more  suited  to  other  subjects, 
while  the  religious  images  were  made  as  nearly  as  possible 
like  the  older  ones.  If  it  happened  that  a  rude  ancient 
image  of  a  god  was  placed  side  by  side  with  a  modern  and 
more  beautiful  statue  of  the  same  deity,  the  pious  Greek 
would  prefer  the  ugly  one,  while  he  could  well  admire  the 

most  lovely.  You  should  remember  that 
these  temple  images  were  really  objects 
of  actual  worship. 

Many  of  these  archaistic  works  are 
in  various  museums  of  art. 

This  is  a  very  beautiful  temple  image, 
and  was  discovered  at  Pompeii  in  1760. 
It  was  found  in  a  small  temple  or  chapel, 
of  which  it  must  have  been  the  princi- 
pal deity.  It  is  in  excellent  preserva- 
tion ;  the  only  parts  which  are  wanting 
are  the  fingers  of  the  right  hand  and  the 
object  which  it  held.  Like  many  of 
these  statues,  it  is  less  than  life-size — 
four  feet  and  two  inches  in  height. 
When  it  was  first  discovered  there  were 
many  traces  of  color  about  it.  The  hair 
was  gilded  to  represent  the  blonde  hair  which  the  poets 
ascribed  to  Artemis  (Diana).  There  was  considerable  red 
about  the  garments,  and  some  flowers  were  upon  the  border 


Fig.  21. — Archaistic 
Artemis  at  Naples. 


GREEK   SCULPTURE.  29 

of  the  drapery.  There  is  an  archaic  stiffness  about  this 
statue,  but  the  flowing  hair,  the  form  of  the  eyes,  and  the 
free  style  of  the  nude  parts  all  show  that  it  belongs  to  the 
archaistic  period  (Fig.  21). 

It  would  be  pleasant  and  satisfying  if  we  could  trace 
step  by  step  the  progress  of  Greek  sculpture  from  the  rude 
archaic  manner  to  that  of  the  Periclean  age,  or  from  such 
art  as  is  seen  in  the  sculpture  of  ^gina  to  the  perfections  of 
the  reliefs  of  the  Parthenon.  This  we  cannot  do  ;  but  we 
know  some  of  the  causes  that  led  to  this  progress,  and  can 
give  accounts  of  a  few  sculptors  who,  while  they  did  not 
equal  the  great  Phidias,  were  at  least  the  forerunners  of 
such  a  type  of  art  as  his. 

The  chief  cause  of  the  progress  of  art  was  the  greater 
freedom  of  the  artist  in  the  choice  and  treatment  of  his 
subjects.  So  long  as  the  subjects  were  almost  entirely 
religious  there  could  be  little  variety  in  the  manner  of 
treating  them.  Each  god  or  goddess  had  its  own  attributes, 
which  must  be  rendered  with  exact  care  ;  and  any  new^  mode 
of  portraying  them  was  almost  a  sacrilege.  But  as  time 
passed  on  and  the  Panhellenic  games  and  the  national  Pan- 
theon at  Olympia  grew  into  their  great  importance,  new 
subjects  were  furnished  for  the  artists,  which  allowed  them 
to  show  their  originality  and  to  indulge  their  artistic  imagi- 
nations to  their  fullest  extent.  The  victors  in  the  games 
were  heroes,  and  regarded  even  as  demi-gods,  and  statues 
were  allowed  to  be  erected  to  them,  although  this  had 
hitherto  been  considered  a  divine  honor  and  was  accorded 
to  the  gods  alone.  When  these  heroes  w^ere  represented, 
the  artists,  not  being  bound  by  any  laws,  could  study  their 
subjects  and  represent  them  to  the  life  as  nearly  as  they 
were  able  to  do.  This  exaltation  of  the  Olympian  victors 
gave  an  opportunity  for  the  development  of  sculpture  such 
as  cannot  be  over-estimated  in  its  influence  and  results. 

Another  characteristic  of  the  art  of  the  time  we  are  now 


;o 


SCULPTURE. 


considering  was  the  almost  universal  use  of  bronze.  This 
metal  is  excellent  for  displaying  the  minute  features  of  the 
nude  parts  of  statues,  but  it  is  not  equal  to  marble  in  the 
representation  of  draperies  or  for  giving  expression  to  the 
face.  Pythagoras  of  Rhegium  was  a  famous  artist  who 
worked  entirely  in  bronze.  The  only  copies  from  his  works 
of  which  we  know  are  on  two  gems,  one  of  which  is  in  the 
Berlin  Museum.  He  made  exact  studies  of  the  body  in 
action,  and  gave  new  importance  to  the  reproduction  of  the 
veins  and  muscles.  It  is  also  claimed  that  Pythagoras  was 
the  first  to  lay  down  clearly  the  laws  of  symmetry  or  pro- 
portion which  is  governed  by 
strict  mathematical  rules. 

Myron  of  Eleuther^ 
flourished  about  500  to  440 
B.C.,  and  was  reckoned  among 
Athenian  artists  because,  though 
not  born  at  Athens,  he  did 
most  of  his  works  there,  and 
his  most  famous  work,  the 
statue  of  a  cow,  stood  on  the 
Acropolis  of  that  city.  This 
cow  was  represented  as  in  the 
act  of  lowing,  and  was  elevated 
upon  a  marble  base.  It  was 
carried  from  Athens  to  Rome, 
where  it  stood  in  the  Forum  of 
Peace.  Many  writers  mention- 
ed this  work  of  Myron's,  and 
thirty-seven  epigrams  were  writ- 
ten concerning  it. 
Though  the  cow  was  so  much  talked  of,  the  artistic 
fame  of  Myron  rests  more  upon  the  "Discobolus,"  or 
quoit-thrower.  The  original  statue  does  not  exist,  but 
there  are  several  copies  of  it.     That  in  the  Massimi  Villa  is 


Fig.  22. — The  Discobolus. 


GREEK   SCULPTURE — CALAMTS.  3 1 

a  very  accurate  one,  and  was  found  on  the  Esquiline  Hill  at 
Rome  in  A.D.  1782  ;  our  illustration  is  made  from  this 
statue.  Myron's  great  skill  in  representing  the  human 
figure  in  excited  action  is  well  shown  in  the  quoit-thrower. 
To  make  such  a  figure  as  this  requires  great  power  in  a 
sculptor.  No  model  could  constantly  repeat  this  action, 
and  if  he  could  there  is  but  a  flash  of  time  in  which  the 
artist  sees  just  the  position  he  reproduces.  This  figure, 
however,  is  so  true  to  life  that  one  feels  like  keeping  out  of 
the  range  of  the  quoit  when  it  flies  (Fig.  22).  There  are 
several  other  existing  works  attributed  to  Myron  :  they  are 
a  marble  copy  of  his  statue  of  Marsyas,  in  the  Lateran  at 
Rome ;  two  torsi  in  the  gallery  at  Florence  ;  a  figure 
called  Diomed,  and  a  bronze  in  the  gallery  at  Munich. 

Myron  made  statues  of  gods  and  heroes,  but  he  excelled 
in  representing  athletes.  His  works  were  very  numerous, 
and  a  list  of  those  which  are  only  known  through  the  men- 
tion of  them  by  various  writers  would  be  of  little  value  here. 
While  Myron  reproduced  the  form  and  action  of  the  body 
with  marvellous  eff"ect,  he  made  no  advance  in  representing 
the  expression  of  the  face,  nor  in  the  treatment  of  the  hair. 
He  was  daring  in  his  art,  for  he  not  only  imitated  what  he 
saw  in  life,  but  he  also  represented  grotesque  imaginary 
creatures,  and  in  many  ways  proved  that  he  had  a  rich 
creative  fancy. 

A  third  sculptor  of  this  time  was  Calamis,  who  was  in 
his  prime  about  B.C.  450.  He  was  not  born  in  Athens,  but 
he  worked  there.  Calamis  added  to  the  exact  representa- 
tions of  Pythagoras  and  Myron  the  element  of  grace  beyond 
their  powers  in  that  direction.  He  made  a  greater  variety 
of  figures  than  they,  for  to  gods  and  heroes  he  added  hero- 
ines, boys  and  horses.  His  works  were  in  bronze,  gold 
and  ivory,  as  well  as  marble.  But  what  we  know  of  Cala- 
mis is  gathered  from  the  writings  of  Greek  authors  rather 
than  from  works,  or  copies  of  works,  by  him  still  existing  ; 


32  SCULPTURE. 

indeed,  no  statue  remains  known  to  be  his  own,  though 
there  are  some  which  critics  fancy  may  be  so.  But  we  may 
be  certain  of  his  great  excellence  from  the  many  praises 
sung  and  said  of  him,  and  Lucian,  who  knew  all  the  best 
works  of  all  the  greatest  masters  of  Greece,  puts  Calamis 
before  them  all  for  elegance  and  grace,  and  for  the  finer 
expression  of  faces  ;  when  imagining  a  beautiful  statue  of 
a  young  girl  he  declares  that  he  would  go  to  Calamis  to 
impart  to  it  a  chaste  modesty  and  give  it  a  sweet  and  un- 
affected smile. 

Phidias  is  the  most  famous  of  all  Greek  sculptors,  and 
as  Greek  sculpture  is  the  finest  sculpture  of  which  we  have 
any  knowledge,  it  follows  that  Phidias  was  the  first  sculptor 
of  the  world.  And  yet,  in  spite  of  his  fame,  we  do  not 
know  the  time  of  his  birth.  We  know  that  he  was  the  son 
of  Charmidas,  but  we  know  nothing  of  the  father  except 
that  he  had  a  brother  who  was  a  painter,  and  this  makes  it 
probable  that  the  family  of  Phidias  were  artists. 

As  nearly  as  can  be  told,  Phidias  was  born  about  B.C.  500. 
This  would  have  made  him  ten  years  old  at  the  time  of  the 
battle  of  Marathon  and  twenty  years  old  when  Salamis 
was  fought,  while  he  came  of  age  at  the  time  of  Plataea. 
He  seems  to  have  begun  his  artistic  life  as  a  painter,  and 
we  know  nothing  of  him  as  an  independent  sculptor  until 
the  administration  of  Cimon,  about  B.C.  471.  But  his  finest 
works  belong  to  the  time  of  Pericles,  who  was  his  friend  as 
well  as  patron,  and  made  him  the  master  over  all  the  great 
public  works  at  Athens  during  what  we  speak  of  as  the 
Periclean  age. 

It  seems  that  the  favor  of  Pericles  was  a  dear  privilege 
to  Phidias,  for  it  exposed  him  to  bitter  envy  and  hatred  ; 
and  those  who  feared  to  attack  Pericles  himself  avenged 
themselves  upon  Phidias,  and  accused  him  of  dishonesty  in 
obtaining  the  gold  for  the  robe  of  the  statue  of  Minerva 
which  he  made  for  the  Parthenon.      He  proved  himself  in- 


GREEK   SCULPTURE— PHIDIAS.  33 

nocent  of  this,  but  he  was  accused  of  other  crimes,  and  one 
account  says  that  he  was  thrown  into  prison  and  died  there 
of  disease  or  poison.  Another  account  relates  that  the  great 
sculptor  went  into  exile  at  Elis,  where  he  made  his  most 
famous  statue,  the  Olympian  Zeus,  and  that  he  was  there 
convicted  of  theft  and  put  to  death.  With  such  contradic- 
tory stories  we  cannot  know  the  exact  truth  ;  but  we  do  know 
that  he  went  to  Elis  accompanied  by  distinguished  artists. 
He  was  received  with  honor,  and  for  a  long  time  the  studio 
that  he  occupied  there  was  shown  to  strangers.  The  Olym- 
pians also  allowed  him  an  honor  which  the  Athenians  never 
extended  to  him— that  is,  to  inscribe  his  name  upon  the  base 
of  the  statue  of  Zeus,  which  he  was  not  permitted  to  do  in 
the  case  of  the  Minerva  (or  Athena)  of  the  Parthenon. 

It  often  happens  in  the  case  of  a  very  great  man  that 
the  events  which  have  preceded  his  manhood  have  prepared 
the  way  for  him  and  his  work  in  so  striking  a  manner  that 
it  seems  as  if  he  could  not  have  been  great  at  any  other 
time,  and  that  he  could  not  avoid  being  so,  when  everything 
had  been  shaped  to  his  advantage.  This  was  true  of  Phid- 
ias. When  he  came  to  be  a  man  the  dreadful  wars  which 
had  ravaged  Greece  were  over,  and  the  destruction  of  the 
older  structures  prepared  the  way  for  the  rebuilding  of 
Athens.  Large  quantities  of  "marble,  bronze,  ivory, 
gold,  ebony  and  cypress  wood"  were  there,  and  a  great 
number  of  skilful  workmen  were  at  hand  to  work  under  his 
command.  The  Athenians  were  ablaze  with  zeal  to  rebuild 
the  temples  and  shrines  of  their  gods,  who,  as  they  beUeved, 
had  led  them  to  their  victories,  and  not  only  the  public,  but 
the  private  means  were  used  to  make  Athens  the  grandest 
and  most  beautiful  city  of  the  world. 

The  f^rst  great  work  with  which  the  name  of  Phidias  was   \ 
connected  was  the  building  of  the  temple  of  Theseus,  called 
also  the  Theseion.     This  was  a  very  important  temple,  and 
was  constructed  in  obedience  to  the  command  of  an  oracle 


34 


SCULPTURE. 


in  this  wise  :  In  B.C.  470  the  island  of  Scyros  had  been 
taken  by  the  Athenians,  and  upon  this  island  Theseus  had 
been  buried.  After  the  battle  of  Marathon,  in  which  he 
had  aided  the  Athenians,  Theseus  was  much  regarded  by 
them,  and  in  B.C.  476  they  were  directed  to  remove  his 
bones  to  Athens  and  build  over  them  a  shrine  worthy  of  so 
great  a  champion.  Just  then  a  gigantic  skeleton  was  dis- 
covered at  Scyros  by  Cimon,  and  was  brought  to  Athens 
with  great  ceremony,  and  laid  to  rest  with  pompous  respect, 
and  the  splendid  temple  dedicated  to  Theseus  was  begun, 
and  Phidias  was  commissioned  to  make  its  plastic  orna- 
ments. The  precincts  of  this  temple  later  became  a  sanc- 
tuary where  the  poor  man  and  the  slave  could  be  safe  from 
the  oppressor. 

Phidias  executed  many  works  under  the  patronage  of 
Cimon,  the  greatest  of  which  was  the  colossal  statue  of 
Minerva,  which  stood  on  the  Acropolis.  It  was  called  the 
''Minerva  Promachos,"  and  was  so  gigantic  that  "the 
crest  of  her  helmet  and  the  point  of  her  spear  could  be  seen 
by  the  mariner  off  the  promontory  of  Sunium  glittering  in 
the  sunlight  as  a  welcome  to  her  own  chosen  people,  and  an 
awful  warning  to  her  foes."     The  meaning  of  Promachos 

may  be  given  as  champion 
or  guardian,  and  we  know 
from  existing  descriptions 
that,  with  its  pedestal,  it 
must  have  been  at  least 
seventy  feet  in  height.  It 
was  made  from  the  spoils 
taken  at  Marathon  ;  its 
pedestal  was  found,  in 
1840,  standing  between 
the  Parthenon  and  the  Erechtheium.  It  has  been  called 
the  "  Pallas  with  the  golden  spear,"  for  this  goddess  was 
known  as  Athena,  Minerva,  and  Pallas,  and  it  is  said  that 


Fig.  23. — Athenian  Coins  with  the 
Minerva  Promachos. 


GREEK   SCULPTURE — PHIDIAS.  35 

Alaric  was  so  impressed  by  its  awful  aspect  that  he  shrank 
from  it  in  horror.  The  only  representations  of  this  statue 
now  in  existence  are  upon  Athenian  coins,  and  the  position 
of  the  goddess  differs  in  these,  as  you  will  see  by  the  illus- 
tration (Fig.  23)  ;  there  are  reasons  for  believing  that  the 
one  in  which  the  shield  rests  upon  the  ground  is  correct, 
one  of  which  is  that  some  years  after  the  death  of  Phidias 
the  inside  of  the  shield  was  ornamented  by  a  relief  of  the 
battle  of  the  Centaurs. 

Though  Phidias  proved  himself  to  be  a  great  artist 
durino-  the  reign  of  Cimon,  it  was  not  until  the  time  of 
Pericles  that  he  reached  the  glorious  height  of  his  genius. 
Pericles  and  Phidias  seem  to  have  been  two  grand  forces 
working  in  harmony  for  the  political  and  artistic  grandeur 
of  Athens,  and,  indeed,  of  all  Attica,  for  within  a  period  of 
twenty  years  nearly  all  the  great  works  of  that  country 
were  begun  and  completed.  Plutarch  writes  of  these  won- 
ders in  these  words  :  **  Hence  we  have  the  more  reason  to 
wonder  that  the  structures  raised  by  Pericles  should  be 
built  in  so  short  a  time,  and  yet  built  for  ages.  For  as 
each  of  them,  as  soon  as  it  was  finished,  had  the  venerable 
air  of  antiquity,  so  now  that  they  are  old  they  have  the 
freshness  of  a  modern  building.  A  bloom  is  diffused  over 
them  which  preserves  their  aspect  untarnished  by  time,  as 
if  they  were  animated  with  a  spirit  of  perpetual  youth  and 
unfading  elegance." 

It  is  quite  impossible  that  I  should  speak  here  of  the 
works  of  Phidias  in  detail,  and  I  have  decided  to  speak  only 
of  the  frieze  of  the  Parthenon,  because  the  Elgin  marbles 
enable  us  to  give  illustrations  from  it  and  to  know  more 
about  this  than  of  the  other  works  of  the  great  masters 
about  whom  whole  volumes  might  be  written  with  justice. 
But,  first,  I  will  give  a  picture  of  a  coin  which  shows  the 
great  Olympian  Zeus,  or  Jupiter,  which  Phidias  made  at 
Elis,  after  he  was  an  exile  from  Athens  (Fig.  24).      When 


36 


SCULPTURE. 


Fig,  24. — Coin  of  Elis  with  the  Olympian  Zeus. 

Phidias  was  asked  how  he   had    found    a   model    for   this 
Jupiter,  he  quoted  the  Hnes  from  Homer  : 

"  He  said,  and  nodded  with  his  shadowy  brows, 
Waved  on  the  immortal  head  the  ambrosial  locks, 
And  all  Olympus  trembled  at  the  nod." 

The  writings  of  the  ancients  have  almost  numberless 
references  to  this  statue,  and  its  praise  is  unending.  It  was 
colossal  in  size  and  made  of  ivory  and  gold,  and  one  histo- 
rian says  that  though  the  temple  had  great  height,  yet  the. 
Jupiter  was  so  large  that  if  he  had  risen  from  his  throne  he 
must  have  carried  the  roof  away.  It  is  related  that  when 
the  work  was  completed  Phidias  prayed  to  Jupiter  to  give 
him  a  sign  from  heaven  that  he  might  know  whether  his 
work  was  pleasing  to  the  great  god  or  not.  This  prayer  was 
answered,  and  a  flash  of  lightning  came  which  struck  the 
pavement  in  front  of  the  statue.  This  statue  was  reckoned 
among  the  seven  wonders  of  the  world,  and  it  is  believed 
that  the  magnificent  bust  called  the  "  Jupiter  Otricoli"  is  a 
copy  from  the  Olympian  statue  (Fig.  25). 

I  shall  speak  in  another  volume  (upon  Architecture) 
of  the  former  glory  and  the  present  ruin  of  the  Parthenon 
at  Athens,  and  tell  how  upon  its  decoration  Phidias  lav- 
ished his  thought  and  care  until  it  surpassed  in  beauty  any 


GREEK   SCULPTURE— PHIDIAS. 


17 


other  structure  of  which  we  have  knowledge.  Early  in  the 
present  century  Lord  Elgin,  the  English  Ambassador  to  the 
Porte,  interested  himself  in  having  the  sculptures  found  in 
the  ruins  taken  to  Eng- 
land. In  i8 12  eighty  chests 
containing  these  priceless 
works  of  the  greatest  sculp- 
tor who  ever  lived  were 
placed  in  Burlington  House, 
and  a  few  years  later  Par- 
liament purchased  them  for 
i^3  5,000,  and  they  were 
placed  in  the  British  Muse- 
um, where  they  now  are. 
There  is  a  great  number  of 
them,  and  all  are  of  great 
interest  ;  but  I  shall  pass 
over  the  metopes  and  the 
pediments,  and  shall  pass 
to  the  frieze  after  speaking 
of  this  one  figure  of  The- 
seus, which  is  from  the 
sculptures  of  the  eastern 
pediment.  The  sculptures 
upon  this  pediment  repre- 
sented the  story  of  the  birth  of  Athena,  and  it  was  proper 
that  Theseus  should  be  present,  as  he  was  king  over 
Athens,  of  which  city  Athena,  or  Minerva,  was  the  protect- 
ing goddess.  Torso  is  a  term  used  in  sculpture  to  denote 
a  mutilated  figure,  and  many  such  remains  of  ancient 
sculpture  exist  which  are  so  beautiful,  even  in  their  ruin, 
that  they  are  the  pride  of  the  museums  where  they  are, 
and  serve  as  studies  for  the  artists  of  all  time.  This  figure 
of  Theseus  is  wonderful  for  the  majesty  and  grace  of  its 
attitude,  for  perfection  of  its  anatomical  accuracy,  and  for 


Fig.  25. — Bust  of  Jupiter  found  at 
Otricoli. 


38 


SCULPTURE. 


the  appearance  of  elasticity  of  muscle  with  which  it  im- 
presses one,  even  though  made  of  marble.  It  really  seems 
as  if  the  skin  could  be  moved  upon  it,  so  soft  does  its  sur- 
face look  to  be.  It  is  ranked  as  the  greatest  miracle  of 
sculpture.  Though  it  is  called  a  Theseus,  I  ought  to  state 
that  some  critics  take  exceptions  to  this  name,  and  believe 
it  to  be  Hercules  or  Bacchus  ;  but  by  almost  general  con- 
sent it  is  called  a  Theseus  (Fig.  26). 


Fig.  26. — Torso  of  a  Statue  of  Theseus  (?). 


We  may  imagine  that  the  representation  upon  this  east- 
ern pediment  must  have  been  magnificent.  Of  course  the 
chosen  goddess  of  Athens  would  be  made  to  appear  with 
great  glory.  The  myth  relates  that  Athena  was  born  in 
an  instant,  by  springing  forth  from  the  head  of  Zeus,  or 
Jupiter,  fully  armed.  It  is  believed  that  in  this  sculp- 
ture she  was  represented  a  moment  after  birth  when  she 
appeared  in  full,  colossal  majesty,  shouting  her  war-cry 
and  waving  her  lance — something  as  these  lines  represent 
the  scene  : 


GREEK   SCULPTURE.  39 

"  Wonder  strange  possessed 
The  everlasting  gods,  that  shape  to  see 
Shaking  a  javelin  keen,  impetuously 
Rush  from  the  crest  of  segis-bearing  Jove. 
Fearfully  Heaven  was  shaken,  and  did  move 
Beneath  the  might  of  the  Caerulean-eyed 
Earth  dreadfully  surrounded  far  and  wide, 
And  lifted  from  its  depths  ;  the  sea  swelled  high 
In  purple  billows." 

It  is  very  important,  when  considering  the  sculpture  at 
Athens,  to  know  something  about  the  character  of  this 
goddess  whose  power  and  influence  was  so  great  there.  I 
shall  give  an  extract  from  an  English  writer  on  Greek 
sculpture,  Mr.  Walter  Copeland  Perry  : 

"It  is  a  very  remarkable  fact,  and  one  which  gives  us  a 
deep  insight  into  the  character  of  the  Athenians,  that  the 
central  figure  in  their  religion,  the  most  perfect  representa- 
tive of  their  feelings,  thoughts,  and  aspirations,  was  not 
Zeus  or  Hera  (Juno),  nor  the  most  popular  gods  of  all  times 
and  nations.  Ares  (Mars)  and  Aphrodite  (Venus),  but 
Athena,  the  virgin,  the  goddess  of  wise  counsel  and  brave 
deed  !  She  was  enthroned  in  the  very  heart  of  their  cita- 
del ;  and  she  stood  in  colossal  grandeur  on  the  battlements 
to  terrify  their  foes,  and  to  give  the  first  welcome  to  the 
mariner  or  the  exile  when  he  approached  his  divine  and 
beautiful  home,  which  reposed  in  safety  under  the  protec- 
tion of  her  lance  and  shield." 

The  attributes  of  this  goddess,  as  given  in  Greek  litera- 
ture and  shown  forth  in  Greek  art,  are  very  varied  and  hard 
to  be  understood  as  belonging  to  one  person.  She  is  the 
patroness  of  war,  and  in  Homer's  Iliad  she  is  represented 
as  rushing  into  battle  in  this  wise  : 

"  The  cuirass  donn'd  of  cloud-compelling  force 
And  stood  accoutred  for  the  bloody  fray. 
Her  tasselled  aegis  round  her  shoulders  next 
She  threw,  with  terror  circled  all  around, 


40  SCULPTURE. 

And  on  its  face  were  figured  deeds  of  arms 
And  Strife  and  Courage  high,  and  panic  Rout. 
There  too  a  Gorgon's  head  of  monstrous  size 
Frown 'd  terrible,  portent  of  angry  Jove. 

In  her  hand 

A  spear  she  bore,  long,  weighty,  tough,  wherewith 

The  mighty  daughter  of  a  mighty  sire 

Sweeps  down  the  ranks  of  those  her  hate  pursues." 

But  this  warlike  goddess  is  also  represented  as  the  wise 
counsellor  who  restrains  Achilles  from  rash  action  ;  and 
though  she  does  not  shrink  from  war  and  danger,  yet  the 
most  precious  gift  to  her  people  was  not  the  war-horse,  but 
the  olive,  the  emblem  of  peace,  and  to  her  honor  was  this. 
sacred  tree  planted.  "  She  stands  in  full  armor,  with 
brandished  lance,  on  the  highest  point  of  the  Acropolis, 
and  yet  she  is  the  patroness  of  all  household  and  female 
work,  in  which  she  herself  excels." 

It  is  very  interesting  to  notice  that  in  the  early  repre- 
sentations of  Athena,  while  she  is  very  warlike  in  her  bear- 
ing and  raises  her  lance  in  her  right  hand,  she  also  carries 
in  her  left  the  distaff  and  the  spindle  and  the  lamp  of 
knowledge.  In  the  later  art  of  Phidias  she  is  still  stern  and 
severe,  but  her  face  also  expresses  dignity  and  grandeur  of 
thought  and  character.  Later  still,  her  warlike  attributes 
are  made  less  prominent  :  the  shield  rests  on  the  ground, 
and  the  lance  is  more  like  a  sceptre,  until,  in  the  decline  of 
art,  she  is  represented  as  lovely  and  gentle,  and  all  her 
grand  power  is  lost,  and  she  is  not  above  a  great  number  of 
other  goddesses  who  are  attractive  for  their  soft,  lovely 
grace,  but  have  no  selfhood,  no  individuality  to  command 
our  admiration  or  respect. 

We  come  now  to  speak  of  the  Elgin  marbles  from* 
the  frieze  of  the  Parthenon.  It  was  about  thirty-five 
feet  above  the  floor,  three  feet  three  inches  broad,  and. 
about  five  hundred  and  twenty-two  feet  long.  It  repre- 
sented a  continuous  procession,  and  the  subject  is  called' 


FRIEZE   OF   THE   PARTHENON.  41 

the  great  Panathenaic  Procession.  About  four  hundred 
feet  of  this  frieze  remains,  so  that  a  good  judgment  can  be 
formed  of  it.  First  I  must  tell  you  what  this  procession 
means.  The  festival  of  the  Panathenaea  wa-s  the  most  im- 
portant of  all  the  splendid  pomps  which  were  celebrated  at 
Athens.  It  is  probable  that  this  festival  was  held  every 
year  about  the  middle  of  August,  but  the  great  Panathenaic 
occurred  only  in  the  third  year  of  each  olympiad  ;  an 
olympiad  was  a  period  of  four  years,  extending  from  one 
celebration  of  the  Olympic  games  to  another,  which  was  an 
event  of  great  importance  in  reckoning  time  with  the 
Greeks  ;  thus  we  see  that  the  great  procession  represented 
on  the  frieze  occurred  once  in  every  four  years.  This  festi- 
val continued  several  days,  and  all  were  filled  with  horse- 
racing,  cock-fighting,  gymnastic  and  musical  contests,  and 
a  great  variety  of  games  ;  poets  also  recited  their  verses, 
and  philosophers  held  arguments  in  public  places.*  But 
the  most  important  day  was  that  on  which  a  procession 
went  up  to  the  Parthenon  and  carried  the  peplos,  or  gar- 
ment for  the  great  goddess,  which  had  been  woven  by  the 
maidens  of  Athens.  This  peplos  was  made  of  crocus- 
colored  stuff,  on  which  the  figures  of  the  gods  engaged  in 
their  contests  with  the  giants  appeared  in  beautiful,  rich 
embroidery.  In  later  years,  after  the  Athenians  had  fallen 
from  their  first  high-minded  simplicity,  they  sometimes 
embroidered  on  the  peplos  the  likeness  of  a  man  whom  they 
wished  to  flatter,  as  thus  placing  him  in  the  company  of  the 
gods  was  a  very  great  compliment. 

The  procession  of  the  peplos  was  formed  at  daybreak 
in  the  Potters'  Quarter  of  the  city,  and  passed  to  the 
Dromos,  then  to  the  market-place,  onward  to  the  temple 


*  In  the  Persian  invasion  of  Greece  by  Xerxes,  B.C.  480,  that  monarch 
was  surprised  to  learn  that  the  Olympic  games  were  not  suspended  at  the 
approach  of  his  army. 


42  SCULPTURE. 

of  Demeter,  round  the  Acropolis  along  the  Pelasgic  wall, 
through  the  Propylaea  to  the  temple  of  Athena  Polias. 
The  procession  was  as  splendid  as  all  the  wealth,  nobility, 
youth  and  beauty  of  Athens  could  make  it.  Of  the  vast 
multitude  which  joined  it  some  were  in  chariots,  others  on 
horses  and  almost  countless  numbers  on  foot.  After  the 
most  important  officers  of  the  government  come  the  envoys 
of  the  Attic  colonies  with  the  noble  Athenian  maidens,  the 
basket-bearers,  the  aliens  who  resided  in  Athens  dressed  in 
red  instead  of  white,  and  a  chosen  company  of  aged  men 
bearing  branches  of  the  sacred  olive. 

The  peplos  was  not  borne  by  hands,  but  was  suspended 
from  the  mast  of  a  ship,  upon  wheels,  which  some  writers 
say  was  moved  by  machinery  placed  underground.  When 
the  temple  was  reached  the  splendid  garment  was  placed 
upon  the  sacred  statue,  which  was  believed  to  have  fallen 
from  heaven.  During  the  festival  of  the  Panathensea  pris- 
oners were  permitted  to  enjoy  their  freedom,  men  whose 
services  to  the  public  merited  recognition  received  gifts  of 
gold  crowns,  and  their  names  were  announced  by  heralds  in 
public  places,  and  many  interesting  ceremonies  filled  up  the 
time.  We  do  not  know  the  exact  order  in  which  all  these 
things  happened  ;  but  it  is  believed  that  the  procession  of 
the  peplos  was  the  crowning  glory  of  it  all,  and  was  cele- 
brated on  the  final  day. 

The  plan  of  the  Parthenon  frieze  which  represented  this 
great  procession  was  as  follows  :  On  the  eastern  side  above 
the  main  entrance  to  the  temple  there  were  two  groups  of 
the  most  important  and  powerful  of  the  many  gods  of  the 
Greek  religion.  Each  of  these  groups  had  six  gods  and  an 
attendant,  so  that  there  were  seven  figures  in  each  of  these 
groups,  as  you  will  see  by  the  illustration  (Fig.  if). 

There  has  been  much  study  of  these  sculptures,  and 
many  scholars  have  written  about  them.  There  is  still  a 
difference  of  opinion  as  to  which  gods  are  here  represented, 


FRIEZE    OF   THE   PARTHENON. 


43 


but  I  shall  give  you  the  most  generally  accepted  opinion, 
which  calls  a,  Hermes,  or  Mercury,  the  messenger  of  the 
gods  ;  b,  Apollo  ;  c,  Artemis,  or  Diana  ;  d,  Ares,  or  Mars  ; 
e,  Iris,  who  is  attending  upon/,  Hera,  or  Juno  ;  g,  Zeus,  or 
Jupiter  ;  h,  Athena,  Minerva,  or  Pallas  ;  /,  Hephaestus,  or 
Vulcan  \j\  Poseidon,  or  Neptune  ;  k,  Dionysus,  or  Bacchus  ; 
/,  in,  n  are  more  doubtful,  but  are  probably  Aphrodite,  or 
Venus,  Demeter,  or  Ceres,  and  Triptolemus,  the  boy  who 
was  a  favorite  with  Ceres,  who  invented  the  plough  and 
first  sowed  corn. 

Now,  these  two  groups  of  divinities  were  divided  by  a 
very  singular  group  containing  five  figures  (Fig.  28). 

There  has  been  much  controversy  as  to  these  figures  and 
what  they  are  doing.  They  seem  to  be  unconscious  of  the 
great  gods  who  are  near  to  them  on  either  side.  The 
greater  number  of  critics  consider  that  the  two  maidens, 
e  and   d,   are   of  the   number  who  have   embroidered   the 


44 


SCULPTURE. 


peplos  ;  the  central  figure,  r,  a  priestess  of  Athena  ;  a,  the 
Archon  Basileus  ;  and  by  a  consecrated  servant-boy,  who  is 
delivering  up  the  peplos.  Other  critics  believe,  however, 
that  these  figures  are  all  preparing  for  the  sacred  ceremonies 
about  to  begin,  and  that  the  priest  is  giving  the  boy-servant 
a  garment  which  he  has  taken  off.  Other  theories  may 
arise,  and  we  can  only  listen  to  them  all,  and  yet  not  know 
the  truth  ;  but  the  more  we  study  the  more  we  shall  admire 
these  exquisite  figures. 


£  d  c  a  h 

Fig.  28. — The  Five  Central  Figures. 

Just  here  I  will  call  your  attention  to  one  feature  of 
these  antique  bas-reliefs  which  is  called  IsocepJialisvi,  and 
means  that  all  the  heads  are  at  an  equal  height.  You  will 
see  that  all  figures,  whether  standing  or  sitting,  walking,  in 
chariots,  or  on  horseback,  have  the  heads  on  the  same  level. 

These  three  groups,  the  five  central  figures  and  the  two 
groups  of  gods,  are  approached  on  each  side  by  long,  con- 
tinuous processions,  and  these  processions  each  start  out 
from  the  south-west  corner  of  the  Parthenon,  so  that  one 
branch  goes  along  the  south  and  a  part  of  the  east  side,  and 
the  other  and  longer  division  marches  on  the  whole  of  the 
west  and  north,  and  a  portion  of  the  east  side.  I  shall  give 
here  a  series  of  pictures  which  are  all  explained  by  their 


FRIEZE    OF   THE   PARTHENON. 


45 


titles,  and  will  give  you  an 
excellent  idea  of  this  mag- 
nificent frieze,  and  doubtless 
many  of  my  readers  have 
studied  or  will  study  and 
admire  it  in  the  British  Mu- 
seum (Figs.   29,   30,   31,   32, 

33»  34,  35). 

Though    all     this    frieze 

was  the  conception  of  the 
great  Phidias,  it  must  have 
been  the  work  of  many 
hands,  and  close  examina- 
tion shows  that  some  por- 
tions of  it  are  done  much 
better  than  others.  These 
sculptures  have  a  double 
value  ;  for  while  they  are  so 
priceless  as  treasures  of  art, 
they  tell  us  much  of  that 
prosperous,  glorious  Athens 
of  which  we  love  to  read 
and  hear  stories.  These  fig- 
ures show  us  how  the  people 
dressed  and  moved,  and  we 
see  in  them  the  "stately 
magistrates  and  venerable 
seers  of  Athens,  the  sacred 
envoys  of  dependent  states, 
the  victors  in  their  chariots 
drawn  by  the  steeds  which 
had  won  for  them  the  cheap 
but  priceless  garland,  the 
full-armed  warriors,  the 
splendid     cavalry,     and    the 


I— I 

p 

to 

o 


o 

H 
X 
en 

*n 

pi 
> 

o 

O 
" — I 

o 

X 
M 

o 

< 

> 

o 
;> 
d 
a 


H 

O 
>^ 

P 

< 

< 


< 


GREEK   SCULPTURE — ALCAMENES.  49 

noble  youths  of  '  horse-loving  '  Athens  on  their  favorite 
steeds,  in  the  flush  and  pride  of  their  young  life  ;  and  last, 
not  least,  the  train  of  high-born  Athenian  maidens,  march- 
ing with  bowed  heads  and  quiet  gait,  for  they  are  engaged 
in  holy  work,  with  modest  mien,  and  gentle  dignity  and 
grace.  All  that  was  sacred,  powerful,  and  grand — all  that 
was  beautiful,  graceful,  and  joyous  in  Athenian  life,  is  rep- 
resented there,  in  ideal  form,  of  course,  but  in  strict  con- 
formity with  the  realities  of  life.  ...  It  is  by  the  study 
of  such  works  as  these  that  we  get  the  clearest  insight  into 
the  essence  and  spirit  of  classical  antiquity  ;"  and  they  help 
us  better  to  understand  all  that  we  may  read  in  history  or 
poetry  concerning  the  ancient,  classic  Greeks. 

We  must  now  leave  Phidias  and  speak  of  other  sculp- 
tors who  were  his  contemporaries  and  pupils.  Among  the 
last  Alcamenes  was  the  most  celebrated.  He  was  born  in 
Lemnos,  but  was  a  citizen  of  Athens  ;  so  he  is  sometimes 
called  an  Athenian,  and  again  a  Lemnian.  His  statues 
were  numerous,  and  most  of  them  represented  the  gods. 
One  of  Hephaestus,  or  Vulcan,  was  remarkable  for  the  way 
in  which  his  lameness  was  concealed  so  skilfully  that  no  de- 
formity appeared. 

His  most  famous  statue  was  a  Venus,  or  Aphrodite, 
concerning  which  it  is  related  that  Agoracritus,  another 
celebrated  pupil  of  Phidias,  contended  with  Alcamenes  in 
making  a  statue  of  that  goddess.  The  preference  was 
given  to  Alcamenes,  and  Agoracritus  believed  this  to  have 
been  done  on  account  of  his  being  an  Athenian  citizen, 
and  not  solely  for  the  merit  of  the  statue.  The  Venus  of 
Alcamenes  stood  in  a  temple  of  that  goddess  in  a  garden 
beyond  the  eastern  wall  of  Athens.  This  statue  was  very 
much  praised  for  its  beauty  by  ancient  writers,  who  all 
mention  with  especial  pride  the  eurytJuny  of  the  action  of 
the  wrist.  This  is  a  term  frequently  used  in  regard  to 
sculpture,  and  is  somewhat  difficult  to  explain.      It  means  a 


50 


SCULPTURE. 


harmony  and  proportion  of  action  which  corresponds  to 
rhythm  in  music.  When  a  statue  has  the  effect  it  should 
have  it  appears  as  if  the  motion  of  the  figure  was  ar- 
rested for  a  moment,  and  would  be  resumed  immediate- 
ly. That  is  what  we  mean  when  we  say  a  statue  has 
life  ;  and,  as  in  life,  the  motion  of  a  statue  may  be  awkward 
or  it  may  be  graceful  ;  it  may  be  harmonious  to  the  eye, 
just  as  music  is  harmonious  to  the  ear,  or  it  may  seem  out 
of  tune  and  time,  just  as  inharmonious  sounds  are  to  a  cor- 
rect ear  for  the  rhythm  of  sound  ;  so  when  we  speak  of  the 
eurythmy  of  sculpture  we  mean  that  its  apparent  motion 
is  in  accord  with  the  laws  of  proportion,  and  is  harmonious 
and  graceful  to  the  eye. 

While  Alcamenes  had  this  power  of  imparting  grace  to 

his  statues,  he  also  approached 
Phidias  in  majesty  and  a  divine 
sweetness,  which  was  the  sweet- 
ness of  great  strength.  In 
truth,  he  is  recognized  as  the 
sculptor  who  most  nearly  ap- 
proached the  great  Phidias.  He 
represented  also  for  the  first 
time  the  god  Asclepius,  or 
^sculapius,  who  was  very  im- 
portant to  the  Greeks,  who 
placed  great  value  upon  physi- 
cal health.  Alcamenes  repre- 
sented him  as  a  sort  of  human- 
ized Zeus  or  Jupiter.  Of  the 
Asclepius  heads  found  at  Melos 
we  may  regard  this  one  given 
here  as  a  free  copy  of  the  type 
of  god  which  this  great  sculptor  represented  the  god  of 
medicine  and  health  to  be  (Fig.  36). 

Alcamenes  was  also  the  principal  assistant  of  Phidias  in 


Fig.  36. — Head  of  Asclepius. 
In  the  British  Museum. 


GREEK   SCULPTURE — AGORACRITUS.  51 

his  decoration  of  the  temple  of  Jupiter  at  Olympia,  and  is 
said  to  have  himself  executed  the  relief  upon  the  western 
pediment,  in  which  the  battle  of  the  Centaurs  and  Lapithse 
was  represented  with  great  spirit. 

AGORACRITUS  of  Paros,  who  has  been  mentioned  as  the 
rival  of  Alcamenes,  is  called  the  favorite  pupil  of  Phidias, 
and  it  is  said  that  the  master  even  gave  Agoracritus  some 
of  his  works,  and  allowed  the  pupil  to  inscribe  his  name 
upon  them.  For  this  reason  the  ancient  writers  were  often 
in  doubt  as  to  the  authorship  of  the  statues  called  by  the 
names  of  these  sculptors.  It  is  said  that  when  the  Venus 
of  Alcamenes  was  preferred  before  that  of  Agoracritus  the 
latter  changed  his  mark,  and  made  it  to  represent  a  Neme- 
sis, or  the  goddess  who  sent  suffering  to  those  who  were 
blessed  with  too  many  gifts.  It  is  said  that  this  statue  was 
cut  from  a  block  of  marble  which  the  Persians  brought  with 
them  to  Marathon  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  trophy  of  it 
which  they  could  set  up  to  commemorate  the  victory  they 
felt  so  sure  of  gaining  ;  in  their  flight  and  adversity  it  was 
left,  and  at  last  served  a  Greek  sculptor  in  making  a  statue 
of  an  avenging  goddess.  This  seems  to  be  a  striking  illus- 
tration of  "  poetic  justice." 

Agoracritus  sold  the  Nemesis  to  the  people  of  Rhamnus, 
who  had  a  temple  dedicated  to  that  goddess,  and  made  a 
condition  that  it  should  never  be  set  up  in  Athens.  In  the 
museum  of  the  Lateran  at  Rome  there  is  a  small  but  very 
beautiful  antique  statue  of  Nemesis,  which  is  thought  to  be 
a  copy  of  this  famous  work.  As  Nemesis  was  the  goddess 
who  meted  out  fortune  according  to  her  idea  of  right,  a 
measure  was  her  symbol,  and  the  Greek  measure  of  a  cubit 
was  generally  placed  in  her  hand.  The  word  cubit  means 
the  length  of  the  forearm  from  the  elbow  to  the  wrist,  and 
in  this  statue  of  which  we  speak  this  part  of  the  arm  is 
made  very  prominent,  and  the  measure  itself  is  omitted. 

The  sculptor  Myron  also  had  pupils  and  followers  who 


52 


SCULPTURE. 


executed  many  works,  and  of  this  school  was  Cresilas  of 
Cydonia,  in  Crete.  We  are  interested  in  him  because  twO' 
copies  from  his  works  exist,  of  which  I  give  pictures  here. 
Pliny,  in  speaking  of  the  portrait  statue  of  Pericles,  said 
it  was  a  marvel  of  the  art  "  which  makes  illustrious  men 
still  more  illustrious."  The  cut  given  here  is  from  a  bust 
in  the  British   Museum.     There  is  reason  to  believe  that 


Fig.  37.— a  Wounded  Amazon. 
Cresilas. 


Fig.  38. — Statue  of  Pericles. 
Cresilas. 


Cresilas    excelled    Myron    in    the    expression    of   his    faces 
(Figs.  37,  38). 

Callimachus  is  an  artist  of  whom  we  know  little,  but 
that  little  is  interesting.  We  do  not  know  where  he  was 
born,  but  as  he  was  employed  to  make  a  candelabra  for  the 
eternal  lamp  which  burned  before  the  sacred  statue  of 
Athena  Polias,  we  may  suppose  that  he  was  an  Athenian. 


GREEK  SCULPTURE— POLYCLEITUS.  53 

Some  writers  say  that  he  invented  a  lamp  which  would 
burn  a  year  without  going  out,  and  that  such  an  one  made 
of  gold  was  the  work  he  did  for  the  temple  of  Minerva. 
Callimachus  lived  between  B.C.  550  and  396,  and  is  credited 
with  having  invented  the  Corinthian  capital  in  this  wise  : 
A  young  girl  of  Corinth  died,  and  her  nurse,  according  to 
custom,  placed  a  basket  upon  her  grave  containing  the  food 
she  had  loved  best  in  life.  It  chanced  that  the  basket  was 
put  down  upon  a  young  acanthus  plant,  and  the  leaves 
grew  up  about  the  basket  in  such  a  way  that  when  Callima- 
chus saw  it  the  design  for  the  capital  which  we  know  as 
Corinthian  was  suggested  to  him,  and  was  thus  named  from 
the  city  in  which  all  this  had  occurred. 

While  the  plastic  art  of  Athens,  or  the  Attic  school  of 
sculpture,  reached  its  greatest  excellence  in  Phidias,  there 
was  in  the  Peloponnesus  another  school  of  much  importance. 
Argos  was  the  chief  city  of  this  school,  and  its  best  master 
was  POLYCLEITUS  of  Sicyon,  who  was  born  about  B.C.  482. 
He  was    thus   about  twelve  years  younger  than    Phidias. 
Polycleitus  was  held  in  such  esteem  that  many  of  the  an- 
cient writers  couple  his  name  with  that  of  Phidias.      He 
was  employed  in  the  decoration  of  the  Heraion,  or  temple 
of  Hera,  at  Argos.     But  his  greatest  work  was  a  statue  of 
Hera,  or  Juno,  for  a   temple    on  Mount  Euboea,    between 
Argos  and   Mycense.     This  statue    was    chryselephantine, 
and  as  Juno  was  the  majestic,  white-armed,  ox-eyed  god- 
dess consort   of   Jupiter,  it   is  a  striking  coincidence  that 
Phidias    at    Olympia   and    Polycleitus    on    Mount    Euboea 
should  have  made  from  ivory  and  gold  two  famous  statues 
of  this  renowned  pair,  who  reigned  over  the  mythical  world 
of  the  Greek  religion.     There  are  several  copies  of  heads  of 
Juno  in  various  museums,   and  some  of  them  have  been 
ascribed  to  Polycleitus  ;  but  the  proof  of  the  truth  of  this 
is   far   from   being  satisfactory.     This   master   made  other 
statues  of  divinities,  but  he  excelled   in   representing  ath- 


54  SCULPTURE. 

letes  ;  and  however  fine  his  other  works  may  have  been,  it 
was  in  the  reproduction  of  strong,  youthful,  manly  beauty 
that  he  surpassed  other  sculptors.  Some  of  his  statues  of 
this  sort,  especially  a  Doryphorus,  or  spear-bearer,  were 
considered  as  models  from  which  all  other  artists  could 
work. 

Polycleitus  is  said  to  have  written  a  treatise  in  which  he 
gave  exact  rules  for  the  proportions  of  the  different  parts  of 
the  body.  This  was  called  "the  canon"  of  Polycleitus, 
and  there  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  the  Doryphorus 
was  called  by  the  same  name,  "  the  canon,"  because  it  was 
fashioned  according  to  the  rules  laid  down  by  Polycleitus  in 
his  treatise.  His  pupils  and  followers  are  mentioned  with 
honor  by  the  Greek  authors  of  his  time,  but  I  need  not  men- 
tion them  here. 

The  art  of  Phidias  and  Polycleitus  was  the  art  of  Greece 
at  its  best  period.  After  the  close  of  the  Persian  wars  the 
people  of  Greece  were  a  religious  and  patriotic  people. 
The  Persian  wars  developed  the  best  quality  of  character, 
for  these  wars  were  waged  against  a  foreign  foe,  and  the 
Greeks  were  defending  their  freedom  and  their  civilization, 
and  at  the  end  of  the  struggle  Pericles,  who  guided  them 
to  their  greatest  prosperity,  was  a  statesman  and  a  man 
of  high  aims  ;  he  was  a  gentleman  as  well  as  a  strong 
ruler.  The  Peloponnesian  war,  on  the  contrary,  was  a 
civil  war,  and  it  divided  the  Greeks  among  themselves 
and  roused  the  evil  passions  of  friend  against  friend  all  over 
their  country.  It  was  the  cause  of  selfishness,  treachery, 
and  immorality,  and  one  of  its  worst  effects  was  seen  in  the 
loss  of  religious  tone  among  the  people  :  their  old  con- 
tented simplicity  of  life  and  thought  was  gone  ;  every  man 
thought  only  of  himself,  and  the  nation  began  to  sink  into 
the  condition  which  at  last  made  it  an  easy  prey  to  the 
Macedonians.  We  have  studied  all  these  wars  in  our  his- 
tories,  but  perhaps  we  have  not  thought  how  much  they 


GREEK   SCULPTURE.  55 

affected  sculpture  and  the  other  arts,  and  brought  them 
down  from  the  lofty  heights  of  the  Periclean  age. 

But  there  were  still  men  who  strove  to  be  great  and 
grand  in  morals  and  in  intellect,  and  perhaps  strove  all  the 
more  earnestly  for  this  on  account  of  the  decline  they  saw 
about  them.  Few  countries  in  any  age  have  had  more 
splendid  men  than  Socrates,  Plato,  Euripides,  Aristoph- 
anes, Pelopidas,  Epaminondas,  Demosthenes,  Dion,  and 
Timoleon,  and  these  all  lived  between  the  Peloponnesian 
and  the  Macedonian  wars.  And  while  the  arts  were  less 
grand  than  before,  they  did  not  fall  into  decline  for  some 
years,  though  they  took  on  new  features.  The  gods  who 
had  been  mostly  represented  were  less  often  the  subjects  of 
the  sculptor,  and  when  they  were  so  they  were  softened 
and  made  less  awful  in  their  effect.  Other  gods  were  more 
freely  taken  for  models,  such  as  came  nearer  to  human  life 
and  thought,  because  less  sublime  in  their  attributes  and 
characters.  Among  these  were  Venus  as  a  lovely  woman 
rather  than  as  the  great  mother  of  all  living  creatures,  and 
Eros,  or  Love  ;  while  Plutus,  or  Wealth,  and  satyrs, 
nymphs,  and  tritons  were  multiplied  in  great  numbers. 

When  the  gods  who  were  represented  were  more  like 
human  beings  in  their  character,  it  followed  that  the  statues 
of  them  more  nearly  resembled  men  and  women,  and  grad- 
ually the  old  grandeur  and  sublimity  were  changed  to  grace, 
beauty,  and  mirth.  Many  people  would  prefer  these  works 
because  they  come  nearer  to  the  every-day  life  of  the 
world  ;  but  earnest,  thoughtful  minds  look  for  something 
more  noble  in  art — something  that  will  not  come  down  to 
us  as  we  are,  but  will  help  us  to  rise  above  ourselves  and  to 
strive  after  better  things. 

Cephisodotus  was  a  sculptor  who  lived  until  about  B.C. 
385,  or  a  little  later,  and  stood  between  the  old  and  the 
new  schools  of  Greek  art.  The  cut  given  here  is  from  a 
group  at  Munich,  which  is  believed  to  be  a  copy  of  a  work 


SCULPTURE. 


by  him,  and  it  is  a  combination  of  the  simple  dignity  of  the 
art  of  Phidias  (vvhich  is  seen  in  the  flowing  drapery  and  the 
wavy  edge  of  its  folds)  and  the  later  Attic  style  (which  is 

seen  in  the  dreamy,  gentle 
air  of  the  face  of  the  nurse 
of  the  little  god).  (Fig.  39.) 
We  know  very  little  of  the 
life  of  Cephisodotus,  and  as 
little  is  said  of  his  works  by 
ancient  writers. 

ScOPAS  of  Paros  was  one 
of  the  greatest  sculptors  of 
the  later  Attic  school.  The 
island  of  Paros,  where  he 
was  born,  was  the  place 
where  the  finest  Greek  mar- 
ble was  found  ;  but  he 
worked  so  much  at  Athens 
that  he  is  spoken  of  as  an 
Athenian.  He  was  an  ar- 
chitect as  well  as  a  sculptor, 
and  he  superintended  the 
erection  of  some  splendid 
structures,  which  he  also  or- 
namented with  his  sculp- 
tures. I  shall  speak  espe- 
cially of  the  tomb  of  Mau- 
solus,  the  King  of  Caria. 
Scopas  executed  the  sculp- 
tures of  the  east  side,  and 
as  he  was  the  best  artist  of 
the  sculptors  employed  there,  it  is  probable  that  he  had 
much  to  do  with  the  design  for  all  the  work.  This  mauso- 
leum was  reckoned  as  one  of  the  "  seven  wonders  of  the 
world,"  and  has  given  a  name  to  fine  tombs  the  world  over. 


Fig.  39. — EiRENE  and  the  Young 
Plutus.      Cephisodotus. 


GREEK   SCULPTURE— SCOPAS. 


57 


The  most  interesting  of  the  sculptures  from  this  tomb 
which  are  now  in  the  British  Museum  seems  to  me  to  be  the 
statue  of  Mausolus  himself.  It  is  plainly  intended  to  be  an 
exact  portrait  of  the  king,  and  it  is  so  designed  and  ex- 
ecuted that  we  feel  sure  it  must  show  him  to  us  just  as  he 
was  when  alive,  more  than  twenty-two 
hundred  years  ago  (Fig.  40). 

A  part  of  the  frieze  upon  the  mau- 
soleum showed  the  battle  of  the  Greeks 
and  the  Amazons,  and  this  illustration 
from  it  gives  an  idea  of  the  boldness 
of  action  and  the  correctness  of  the 
design  (Fig.  41).  This  picture  is  from 
a  slab  in  the  possession  of  the  Serra 
family  in  Genoa.  On  the  right  a  war- 
rior holds  down  an  Amazon  whom  he 
has  forced  to  her  knees  and  is  about  to 
kill,  while  she  stretches  out  her  right 
hand  in  supplication.  The  figures  to 
the  left  are  full  of  spirit,  and  abso- 
lutely seem  to  be  in  motion.  We  do 
not  know  that  any  of  these  figures 
were  executed  by  the  hand  of  Scopas, 
but  it  is  probable  that  they  were,  and 
they  give  us  an  idea  of  the  art  of  his 
time. 

Scopas  also  carved  one  of  the  splendid  pillars  of  the 
temple  of  Diana  at  Ephesus,  and  did  much  architectural 
decoration,  as  well  as  to  execute  many  statues  and  groups 
of  figures.  The  ancient  writers  say  very  little  of  the  art  of 
Scopas,  but  when  all  that  we  can  learn  is  brought  together, 
it  shows  that  he  had  great  fertility  in  expressing  his  own 
ideas,  that  his  genius  was  creative  and  his  works  original. 
He  represented  the  gods  which  the  earlier  sculptors  had 
shown  in  their  works  in  quite  a  new  manner,  and  he  was  the 


Fig.  40. — Portrait  of 
Mausolus. 


58 


SCULPTURE. 


first  to  show  the 
goddess    Venus 
in  all  the  beaut}' 
which   imagina- 
tion   could    at- 
tribute   to   her. 
His  representa- 
tions of  nymphs 
of     wood     and 
sea,      of      mon- 
sters,    and     all 
sorts  of  strange, 
imaginary      be- 
ings were  num- 
berless, and  he 
made  his  sculp- 
tured figures  to 
express      every 
emotion       that 
can    be    fancied 
or  felt,  from  the 
tenderest      and 
sweetest     affec- 
tion to  the  wild- 
est  passions  of 
the  soul. 

H  is  works 
were  always 
representations 
of  gods  or  of 
sentiments  as 
shown  by  some 
superhuman  be- 
ings ;  he  never 
portrayed      a 


GREEK   SCULPTURE — PRAXITELES.  59 

hero,  with  the  exception  of  Hercules,  and  was  ever  busy 
with  the  ideal  rather  than  with  realities  about  him.  He 
worked  in  marble  only,  which  is  far  more  suited  to  the  ele- 
gant beauty  of  his  style  than  are  bronze  and  gold  or  ivory. 

We  are  accustomed  to  call  Praxiteles  the  greatest 
sculptor  of  the  second  school  of  Greek  art,  just  as  we  give 
that  place  to  Phidias  in  the  first.  We  have  no  fixed  dates 
concerning  Praxiteles.  We  know  that  he  was  the  son  of  a 
Cephisodotus,  who  was  a  bronze  worker,  and  was  thought  to 
be  a  son  of  Alcamenes,  thus  making  Praxiteles  a  grandson 
of  the  latter.  Praxiteles  was  first  instructed  by  his  father. 
Later  he  came  under  the  influence  of  Scopas,  who  was  '-" 
much  older  than  he  ;  and  by  Scopas  he  was  persuaded  to  ' 
give  up  working  in  bronze  and  confine  himself  to  marble. 
Perhaps  the  most  authentic  date  we  have  concerning  him  is 
that  given  by  Pliny,  who  says  that  he  was  in  his  prime  from 
B.C.  364-360. 

It  is  impossible  to  praise  a  sculptor  more  than  Praxiteles 
was  praised  by  the  Greek  authors  ;  and,  although  Athens 
was  the  place  where  he  lived  and  labored  most,  yet  he  was 
known  to  all  Greece,  and  even  to  other  countries,  and  the 
number  of  his  works  was  marvellous.  There  are  trust- 
worthy accounts  of  forty-seven  groups,  reliefs,  and  statues 
by  his  hand,  and  it  is  not  probable  that  these  are  all  that  he 
executed. 

Praxiteles  represented  youth  and  beauty  and  such  sub- 
jects as  are  most  pleasing  to  popular  taste.  Thus  it  hap 
pened  that  his  male  figures  were  the  young  Apollo,  Eros, 
and  youthful  satyrs,  while  a  large  proportion  of  his  statues 
represented  lovely  women.  Venus  was  frequently  repeated 
by  him,  and  there  is  a  story  that  he  made  two  statues  of 
her,  one  being  draped  and  the  other  nude.  The  people  of 
Cos  bought  the  first,  and  the  last  was  purchased  by  the 
Cnidians,  who  placed  it  in  the  midst  of  an  open  temple^ 
where  it  could  be  seen  from  all  sides.      It  became  so  famous 


6o 


SCULPTURE. 


that  many  people  went  to  Cnidos  solely  for  the  purpose  of 
seeing  it,  and  the  "  Cnidian  Venus"  acquired  a  reputation 
wherever  art  was  known.  When  the  oppressor  of  the 
Cnidians,  King  Nicodemus  of  Bithynia,  offered  to  release 
them  from  a  debt  of  one  hundred  talents  (about  $100,000) 
if  they  would  give  him  the  Venus,  they  refused,  and  de- 
clared that  it  was  the  chief  glory  of  their  State. 

Another  story  relates  that  Phryne,  a  friend  of  Praxiteles, 
had  been  told  by  him  that  she  could  have  any  work  which 
she  might  choose  from  his  workshop.  She  wished  to  have 
the  one  which  the  artist  himself  considered  the  best.  In 
order  to  find  out  which  he  so  esteemed  she  sent  a  servant 
to  tell  him  that  his  workshop  was  on  fire.  He  exclaimed, 
"  All  is  lost  if  my  Satyr  and  Cupid  are  not  saved  !"  Then 
Phryne  told  him  of  her  trick,  and  chose  the  Cupid,  or 
Eros,  for  her  gift.     Phryne  then  offered  the  statue  to  the 

temple  of  Thespias,  in  Boe- 
otia,  where  it  was  placed 
between  a  statue  of  Venus 
and  one  of  Phryne  herself. 
This  Cupid  was  almost  as 
celebrated  as  the  Cnidian 
Venus,  and  was  visited  by 
many  people.  The  head 
given  here  (Fig.  42),  which 
was  found  in  Centocelle  by 
Gavin  Hamilton,  and  is 
now  in  the  Vatican,  is 
thought  by  many  to  be  a 
copy  of  a  Cupid  by  Prax- 
iteles, and  even  of  the  Thespian  statue  ;  but  we  have  no 
proof  of  this.  The  Cupid,  or  Eros,  of  the  art  of  Scopas 
and  Praxiteles  is  not  the  merry  little  creature  who  bears 
that  name  in  later  art  ;  he  is  a  youth  just  coming  into  man- 
hood, with  a  dreamy,  melancholy  face,  the  tender  beauty 


Fig.'  42. — The  Eros  of  Centocelle. 


THE   NIOBE   GROUP.  6l 

of  which  makes  him  one  of  the  most  attractive  subjects  in 
sculpture.  Caligula  carried  the  Thespian  Cupid  to  Rome  ; 
Claudius  restored  it  to  its  original  place,  but  Nero  again 
bore  it  to  Rome,  where  it  was  burned  in  a  conflagration  in 
the  time  of  Titus. 

I  shall  say  no  more  of  Praxiteles  personally,  because  I 
wish  to  describe  to  you  the  largest  and  grandest  group  of 
Greek  statues  which  exists,  or,  as  I  should  say,  of  which  we 
have  any  copies.  We  do  not  know  whether  Scopas  or 
Praxiteles  made  these  famous  figures,  since  they  are  attrib- 
uted to  both  these  sculptors  ;  perhaps  we  can  never  posi- 
tively know  to  whom  to  ascribe  the  fame  of  this  marvel- 
lous work.  The  historian  Pliny  tells  us  that  they  stood  in 
the  temple  of  Apollo  Sosianus  at  Rome.  Sosius  was  the 
legate  of  Antony  in  Syria  and  Cilicia  ;  he  erected  this 
temple  in  his  own  honor,  and  brought  many  beautiful  works 
from  the  East  for  its  decoration.  It  is  believed  that  he 
brought  the  Niobe  group  from  Cilicia,  and  displayed  it  when 
celebrating  his  victory  over  Judea,  B.C.  35. 

In  A.D.  1583  a  large  number  of  statues  representing  this 
subject  were  found  in  Rome,  and  were  purchased  by  the 
Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany,  who  placed  them  in  the  Villa 
Medici.  In  1775  they  were  removed  to  the  Palace  of  the 
Ufifizi,  in  Florence,  where  an  apartment  was  assigned  to 
them.  The  figures  were  restored,  and  each  one  placed  on  its 
own  pedestal,  which  work  was  not  completed  until  1794. 

The  group  must  have  had  originally  seventeen  figures — 
Niobe  and  fourteen  children,  a  pedagogue  and  a  female 
nurse.  Now  there  are  but  twelve — Niobe,  six  sons,  four 
daughters,  and  the  pedagogue.  At  first  it  was  supposed 
that  these  figures  ornamented  the  temple  pediment,  but  it 
is  now  thought  that  they  stood  on  an  undulating  rocky  base, 
with  a  background  at  a  little  distance.  Niobe  is  the  central 
figure,  in  any  case,  and  the  children  were  fleeing  toward 
her  from   either  side  ;  she  is  the  only  one  represented  in 


62 


SCULPTURE. 


such  a  way  as  to  present  the  full  face  to  the  beholder  (Fig. 
43).  But  we  shall  better  understand  our  subject  if  I  re- 
count as  concisely  as  possible  the  story  of  Niobe,  which, 

as  you  know,  is  a 
Grecian  myth. 
Niobe  was  the 
daughter  of  Tanta- 
lus, and  was  born 
on  Mount  Sipylus. 
When  a  child  Niobe 
played  with  Lato, 
or  Latona,  who  af- 
terward married  the 
great  god  Jupiter, 
or  Zeus.  Niobe  be- 
came the  wife  of 
Amphion,  and  had 
a  very  happy  life  ; 
she  was  the  mother 
of  seven  sons  and 
seven  daughters, 
and  all  this  prosper- 
ity made  her  forget 
that  she  was  mor- 
tal, and  she  dared 
to  be  insolent  even 
to  the  gods  them- 
selves. Lato  had  but  two  children,  the  beautiful  Apollo 
and  the  archer-queen  of  heaven,  called  Diana,  or  Artemis. 

Amphion  and  Niobe  were  the  King  and  Queen  of 
Thebes,  and  when  the  worship  of  Lato  was  established  in 
that  city  Niobe  was  very  angry.  She  thought  of  Lato  as 
her  playmate  and  not  a  goddess,  and  was  so  imprudent  as 
to  drive  in  her  chariot  to  the  temple  and  command  the 
Theban   women   not   to  join   in  this  worship.      Niobe  also- 


Fig.  43. — Niobe  and  her  Youngest 
Daughter. 


THE   NIOBE   GROUP. 


63 


asserted  that  she  was  superior  to  this  Lato,  who  had  but 
two  children,  while  she  had  fourteen  lovely  sons  and  daugh- 
ters, any  one  of  which  was  worthy  of  honor.  All  this  so 
enraged  Lato  that  she  begged  Apollo,  who  was  the  god  of 
the  silver  bow,  and  Diana,  her  huntress  daughter,  to  take 
revenge  on  Niobe.  Obedient  to  her  commands,  Apollo  and 
Artemis  descended  to  earth,  and  in  one  day  slew  all  the 
children  of  Niobe.  Then  this  proud  mother,  left  alone, 
could  do  nothing  but  weep,  and   this  she  did  continually 


Fig.  44. — Brother  and  Sister. 


until  Jupiter  took  pity  on  her  and  turned  her  into  stone,  and 
whirled  her  away  from  Thebes  to  Mount  Sipylus,  the  scene 
of   her   happy   childhood.     In    this   picture   of    Niobe   she 


64 


SCULPTURE. 


clasps  her  youngest  child,  who  has  fled   to  her  for  protec- 
tion. 

I  cannot  give  pictures  of  all  the  figures,  but  one  of 
the  most  interesting  is  this  brother  and  sister.  She  is 
wounded,  and  he  endeavors  to  raise  his  garment  so  as  to 
shield  her  and  himself  from  the  deadly  arrows  which  pursue 

them  (Fig.  44). 

This  figure  of  the 
eldest  daughter  is  very 
beautiful.  An  arrow  has 
pierced  her  neck,  and 
the  right  hand  is  bent 
back  to  the  wound.  The 
face  is  noble  and  simple, 
and  has  been  a  favorite 
model  to  Guido  Reni 
and  other  Italian  masters 

(Fig.  45). 

Fig.  46  shows  one  of 
the  older  sons,  who, 
though  wounded  and 
fallen  on  one  knee,  still 
looks  toward  his  slayer 
with  an  air  of  defiance. 
There  is  a  world  of  in- 
terest connected  with 
these  statues,  and  they 
move  us  with  a  variety 
of  emotions.  The  poor  mother,  so  prosperous  a  moment 
before,  and  now  seeing  her  children  dying  around  her,  slain 
by  the  sure  arrows  of  the  unseen  gods — how  can  we  pity 
her  enough  !  and  then  the  brave  son  who  tries  to  shield  his 
sister  while  he  is  dazed  by  the  suddenness  of  the  misfor- 
tunes which  he  cannot  account  for  ;  the  old  pedagogue,  to 
whom   the  youngest  boy  has   run   for  protection — and,  in- 


FiG.  45. — The  Eldest  Daughter. 


GREEK   SCULPTURE — LEOCHARES. 


^5 


deed,  all  demand  our  sympathy  for  their  grief  and  our  ad- 
miration for  their  beauty,  which  is  still  theirs  in  spite  of 
their  woe. 

One  of  the  young  sculptors  who  was  empjoyed  with 
Scopas  in  the  work  on  the  mausoleum  was  Leochares. 
We  read  of  several  statues  of  Zeus  and  Apollo  by  this 
master,  but  his  most  celebrated  work  was  the  group  of 
Ganymede  borne  upward  by  the  eagle  of  Zeus.  There  are 
several  copies  of  this 
sculpture,  but  that  given 
here,  from  the  Vatican 
figure,  is  the  best  of  all, 
and  is  very  beautiful. 
We  know  very  few  facts 
concerning  Leochares, 
and  cannot  even  say 
whether  he  was  an  Athe- 
nian or  not  (Fig.  47). 

There  is  still  stand- 
ing at  Athens,  in  its  orig- 
inal place,  the  Choragic 
monument  of  Lysicra- 
tes  ;  and  though  we  do 
not  know  the  names  of 
the  architects  and  sculp- 
tors who  made  it,  there 

are  traces  upon  it  which  indicate  that  it  belonged  to  the 
school  of  Scopas  (Fig.  48). 

This  monument  was  erected  B.C.  334,  when  Lysicrates 
was  choragns—\.\vdX  is,  when  it  was  his  office  to  provide  the 
chorus  for  the  plays  represented  at  Athens.  This  was  an 
expensive  ofiice,  and  one  that  demanded  much  labor  and 
care.  He  had  first  to  find  the  choristers,  and  then  bring 
them  together  to  be  instructed,  and  provide  them  with 
proper  food  while  they  studied.     The  choragus  who  gave 


Fig.  46. — A  Niobid. 


Fig.  47. — Ganymede.     After  Lcochares. 


GREEK  SCULPTURE" — LEOCHARES. 


67 


the  best  musical  entertainment  received  a  tripod  as  his 
reward,  and  it  was  the  custom  to  build  a  monument  upon 
which  to  place  the  tripod,  so  that  it  should  be  a  lasting 
honor  to  the  choragus  and  his  family.  The  street  in  which 
these  monuments  were  erect- 
ed was  called  "  the  street  of 
the  Tripods." 

It  was  also  the  custom  to 
•dedicate  each  tripod  to  some 
special  divinity,  and  this  of 
Lysicrates  was  dedicated  to 
Bacchus,  and  had  a  frieze 
with  sculptures  telling  the 
story  of  that  god  and  the 
Tyrrhenian  robbers  who  bore 
him  off  to  their  ship.  In  or- 
der to  revenge  himself  he 
changed  the  oars  and  masts 
into  serpents  and  himself  into 
a  lion  ;  music  was  heard,  and 
ivy  grew  all  over  the  vessel  ; 
the  robbers  went  mad  and 
leaped  into  the  sea,  and 
changed  into  dolphins. 

In  the  frieze,  however,  it 
is  represented  that  the  god  is 
on  shore  quietly  amusing  him- 
self with  the  lion  (Fig.  49), 
while  satyrs  and  sileni  punish 
the  robbers  by  beating  them 
with  sticks  and   chasing  them 

with  fury,  while  they  are  turning  gradually  into  dolphins 
and  rushing  into  the  sea.  The  design  is  so  fine  that  it 
might  easily  be  attributed  to  one  of  the  best  sculptors  ;  but 
the  execution  is  careless,  and  this  is  not  strange  when  we 


Fig.  48. — Monument  of  Lysi- 
crates.    Athens. 


6S 


SCULPTURE. 


remember  that  it  was  all  done  at  the  expense  of  one  man, 
and  he  a  private  citizen. 

We  will  return  now  to  the  Peloponnesian  school,  of 
which  Polycleitus  was  the  head  in  its  earliest  period. 
After  his  time  the  sculptors  of  his  school  continued  to  pre- 
fer the  subjects  in  which  he  excelled,  and  represented  youth- 
ful heroes  and  victors  with  as  much  industry  as  the  artists 
of  Athens  bestowed  upon  their  statues  of  womanly  grace 
and  beauty.  The  subjects  of  the  Peloponnesian  school 
were  especially  suited  to  the  use  of  bronze,  and  the  chief 


Fig.  49. — Bacchus  and  Lion.     From  the  Lysicrates  Monument. 


sculptor  of  his  time,  LvsiPPUS,  whose  works  are  said  to 
have  numbered  fifteen  hundred,  worked  entirely  in  bronze. 
In  order  to  keep  a  record  of  the  number  of  his  works,  he 
adopted  the  plan  of  putting  aside  one  gold  coin  from  the 
price  of  every  statue,  and  at  his  death  his  heirs  are  said  to 
have  found  the  above  number  of  these  coins  thus  laid 
away.  His  home  was  at  Sicyon,  and  his  time  of  work  is 
given  as  B.C.  372-316.  This  seems  a  long  period  for  active 
employment  as  a  sculptor  ;  but  the  number  of  his  works 
accords  well  with  this  estimate  of  his  working  years. 


GREEK   SCULPTURE — I.VSIPPUS. 


69 


Lysippus  cannot  be  said  to  have  followed  any  school  ; 
he  was  original,  and  this  trait  made  him  prominent,  for  he 
was  not  bound  by  old  customs,  but  was  able  to  adapt  him- 
self to  the  new  spirit  of  the  age,  which  came  to  Greece  with 
the  reign  of  Alexander. 
This  sculptor  made  a  great 
number  of  statues  of  Her- 
cules ;  and  as  Alexander 
loved  to  regard  himself  as  a 
modern  Hercules,  Lysippus 
also  represented  the  mon- 
arch in  many  different  ways, 
and  with  much  the  same 
spirit  as  that  he  put  into 
the  statues  of  the  hero-god. 
For  example,  he  made  a 
statue  of  "  Alexander  with 
his  Spear,"  "  Alexander  at 
a  Lion  Hunt,"  "Alexan- 
der as  the  Sun-God, '  *  and  so 
on  through  many  changes 
of  expression  and  attri- 
butes, but  all  being  like- 
nesses of  the  great  king. 
There  is  in  the  Capitol  at 
Rome  a  head  of  Alexander 
called  Helios,  which  is 
thought  by  many  critics  to 
be  the  best  bust  of  him  in 
existence.  There  are  metal 
rays  fastened  to  the  head  ; 
it  has  a  wild,  Bacchus-like  air,  and  the  hair  is  thrown  back, 
as  if  he  had  shaken  his  head  furiously  ;  and  the  defect  of  a 
wry  neck,  which  the  monarch  had,  is  cleverly  concealed 
by  this  motion.     Alexander  was  a  very  handsome  man,  his 


Fig.  50. — The  Apoxyomenos  of 

Lysippus. 


/O  SCULPTURE. 

faults  being  this  twist  in  his  neck  and  a  peculiar  shape  of 
the  eye. 

We  cannot  here  give  the  long  list  of  works  by  Lysippus, 
but  will  speak  of  that  which  interests  us  most,  because  we 
have  a  beautiful  copy  of  it.  I  mean  the  Apoxyomenos, 
which  is  in  the  Vatican.  It  represents  a  youth  scraping 
himself  (as  the  name  denotes)  wdth  the  strigil  after  a  contest 
in  the  arena  (Fig.  50).  The  Vatican  copy  was  found  in  the 
Trastevere  at  Rome  in  1849,  ^^^  ^^  ^^^^11  preserved.  With- 
out doubt  it  is  a  faithful  reproduction  of  the  original,  which 
was  probably  brought  from  Greece  to  Rome  by  Agrippa, 
who  set  it  up  in  front  of  his  public  baths.  Here  it  became 
such  a  favorite  with  the  people  that  when  Tiberius  removed 
it  to  his  own  house  there  was  a  demonstration  in  the  theatre, 
and  so  violent  a  demand  was  made  for  its  restoration  that 
the  cunning  emperor  dared  not  refuse.  This  statue  may  be 
called  an  example  of  a  grand  genre  style.  It  represents  a 
scene  from  common  life  in  Greece,  but  it  is  so  simply  natu- 
ral, so  graceful  and  free  from  restraint,  that  one  could  not 
weary  of  it.  The  expression  of  the  face  is  that  of  quiet 
content — his  task  has  been  faithfully  done,  and  the  remem- 
brance of  it  is  pleasant.  The  hair  is  finely  executed  ;  this 
was  a  point  in  which  Lysippus  excelled  ;  but  the  great 
charm  of  the  whole  is  in  the  pose  of  the  figure.  In  his 
occupation  of  scraping  one  portion  of  the  body  after  an- 
other he  must  constantly  change  his  position,  and  this  one, 
in  which  he  can  rest  but  a  moment,  seems  to  have  the  mo- 
tion in  it  which  he  must  almost  instantly  make,  while  it  is 
full  of  easy  grace  in  itself.  The  art  of  Lysippus  was  not  as 
elevated  as  that  of  Phidias,  who  tried  to  represent  the  high- 
est ideal  which  a  mortal  may  form  of  a  god  ;  but  there  was 
nothing  mean  or  vulgar  in  the  works  of  the  former  ;  on  the 
contrary,  it  was  with  a  pure  and  noble  spirit  that  he  endeav- 
ored to  represent  the  perfections  of  youthful,  manly  beauty, 
and  his  naturalism  was  of  a  healthy  and  dignified  sort. 


GREEK   SCULPTURE — CHARES.  /I 

The  most  important  pupil  of  Lysippus  was  CHARES  OF 
LiNDOS,  who  was  prominent  not  only  on  account  of  his 
own  works,  but  also  because  he  introduced  the  art  of  Sicyon 
into  his  native  island  of  Rhodes.  This  island  is  but  forty- 
five  miles  long  and  twenty  miles  wide  at  its  broadest  part, 
and  yet  its  art  became  second  only  to  that  of  Athens. 

At  the  city  of  Rhodes  alone  there  were  three  thousand 
statues,  besides  many  paintings  and  other  rare  and  beautiful 
objects.  Chares  is  best  known  for  the  sun-god  which  he 
erected  here  ;  it  was  called  the  "  Colossus  of  Rhodes,"  and 
was  reckoned  as  one  of  the  seven  wonders  of  the  world. 
One  hundred  statues  of  the  sun  were  erected  at  Rhodes, 
and  Pliny  says  that  any  one  of  them  was  beautiful  enough 
to  have  been  famous  ;  but  that  of  Chares  was  so  remarkable 
that  it  overshadowed  all  the  rest. 

It  stood  quite  near  the  entrance  to  the  harbor  of  Rhodes, 
but  we  have  no  reason  to  believe  that  its  legs  spanned  the 
mouth  of  the  port  so  that  ships  sailed  between  them,  as  has 
often  been  said,  although  its  size  was  almost  beyond  our 
imagination.  The  statue  was  one  hundred  and  five  feet 
liigh,  and  few  men  could  reach  around  one  of  its  thumbs 
with  their  arms,  while  each  finger  was  as  large  as  most  stat- 
ues. Twelve  years  were  occupied  in  its  erection,  from  B.C. 
292  to  280,  and  it  cost  three  hundred  talents,  or  about 
$3(X>,ooo  of  our  money,  according  to  its  usual  estimate, 
though  there  are  those  who  name  its  cost  as  more  than  four 
times  that  amount.  The  men  of  Rhodes  obtained  this 
great  sum  by  selling  the  engines  of  war  which  Demetrius 
Poliorcetes  left  behind  him  when  he  abandoned  the  siege  of 
Rhodes  in  B.C.  303.  We  have  no  copy  of  this  statue,  but 
there  are  coins  of  Rhodes  which  bear  a  face  that  is  believed 
with  good  reason  to  be  that  of  the  Colossus. 

Fifty-six  years  after  its  completion,  in  B.C.  224,  the 
Colossus  was  overthrown  by  an  earthquake,  and  an  oracle 
forbade  the  restoration  of  it  by  the  Rhodians.      In  A.D.  672, 


72  SCULPTURE. 

nearly  a  thousand  years  after  its  fall,  its  fragments  were 
sold  to  a  Jew  of  Emesa  by  the  command  of  the  Caliph 
Othman  IV.  It  is  said  that  they  weighed  seven  hundred 
thousand  pounds,  and  nine  hundred  camels  were  required 
to  bear  them  away.  When  we  consider  what  care  must 
have  been  needful  to  cast  this  huge  figure  in  bronze,  and  so 
adjust  the  separate  parts  that  the  whole  would  satisfy  the 
standard  of  art  at  Rhodes,  we  are  not  surprised  that  it 
should  have  been  reckoned  among  the  seven  wonders,  and 
that  Chares  should  have  become  a  famous  master. 

Chares  also  founded  a  school  of  art  which  became  very 
important,  and,  indeed,  it  seems  to  have  been  the  continu- 
ance of  the  school  of  the  Peloponnesus  ;  for  after  the  time 
of  Lysippus  the  sculpture  of  Argos  and  Sicyon  came  to  an 
end,  and  we  may  add  that  with  Lysippus  and  his  school  the 
growth  of  art  in  Greece  ceased  ;  it  had  reached  the  highest 
point  to  which  it  ever  attained,  and  all  its  later  works  were 
of  its  decline,  and  foreshadowed  its  death. 

The  reign  of  Alexander  the  Great  was  so  brilliant  that 
it  is  difficult  to  realize  that  it  was  a  time  of  decline  to  the 
Greeks  ;  and  during  the  life  of  Alexander  perhaps  this  does 
not  appear  with  clearness  ;  but  at  the  close  of  his  reign 
there  arose  such  contentions  and  troubles  among  his  gen- 
erals that  everything  in  Greece  suffered,  and  with  the  rest 
Greek  art  was  degraded.  In  the  time  of  Pericles  it  was 
thought  to  be  a  crime  in  him  that  he  permitted  his  portrait 
to  be  put  upon  the  shield  of  the  Parthenon,  and  he  was 
prosecuted  for  thus  exalting  himself  to  a  privilege  which 
belonged  to  the  gods  alone.  Alexander,  on  the  contrary, 
claimed  to  be  a  god,  and  was  represented  by  painters  and 
sculptors  until  his  portraits  and  statues  were  almost  num- 
berless. 

Soon  after  the  death  of  Alexander  the  humiliation  of 
Athens  and  its  old  Periclean  spirit  was  complete.  If  you 
read   the  history  of   Demetrius   Poliorcetes,  who  was  even 


GREEK   SCULPTURE. 


7i 


allowed  to  hold  his  revels  in  the  most  sacred  part  of  the 
Parthenon— the  temple  of  Minerva— you  will  see  that 
Athens  was  enslaved  and  her  people  no  longer  worthy  to 
lead  the  world  in  the  arts  of  peace,  as  they  were  no  longer 
the  brave  men  who  could  stand  first  in  war.  In  their 
degraded  state  the  Athenians  suffered  three  hundred  and 
sixty  statues  to  be  erected  to  Demetrius  Phalereus,  and 
these  were  destroyed  to  make  way  for  the  golden  images  of 
the  conquering  freebooter  Poliorcetes.  This  last  was  hailed 
by  the  debased  people  as  a  god  and  a  saviour.  His  name 
and  that  of  his  father,  Antigonus,  were  woven  into  the 
sacred  peplos. 

At  length,  under  the  Diadochi,  or  successors  of  Alexan- 
der,  order  was  restored,  and  Antigonus,  Ptolemy,  Seleucus, 
and  Lysimachus  divided  the  kingdom  of  Alexander  into 
four  Graeco  Oriental  monarchies.  The  dynasty  of  the 
Ptolemies  in  Egypt  was  the  most  reputable  of  these,  and 
gave  much  encouragement  to  art  and  letters.  But  the 
sacred  fire  seems  to  have  died  out,  or  did  not  burn  clearly 
when  transplanted  from  Athens  to  Alexandria.  The  Alex- 
andrines seem  to  have  been  mere  imitators  of  what  had 
gone  before,  and  there  is  nothing  to  be  said  of  them  that  is 
of  importance  enough  for  us  to  linger  over  it.  Very  few 
works  remain  from  this  Diadochean  period.  The  Metope 
of  Ilium,  which  Dr.  Schliemann  has  in  his  garden  in 
Athens,  the  Barberini  Faun,  in  the  Glyptothek  at  Munich, 
and  the  Nile  of  the  Vatican  are  the  most  important  rem- 
nants of  Alexandrine  sculpture. 

Amid  all  the  confusion  and  strife  which  followed  the 
death  of  Alexander  the  island  of  Rhodes  remained  undis- 
turbed, and  when  the  division  of  the  monarchies  was  made 
the  Rhodians  still  retained  their  independence.  They  were 
neutral,  and  so  had  a  commerce  with  all  the  monarchies, 
and  thus  gained  great  wealth  ;  and  theirs  was  the  only  inde- 
pendent State  of  the  old  Hellenic  world  which  was  able  to 


74  SCULPTURE. 

found  and  maintain  a  school  of  art.  Among  the  great 
works  of  the  Rhodian  artists  none  is  more  familiar  to  us 
than  the  group  of  the  Laocoon. 

In  the  time  of  Pliny  this  work  stood  in  the  palace  of 
Titus,  and  the  historian  called  it  "  preferable  to  all  other 
works  of  pictorial  or  plastic  art."  There  is  a  difference  of 
opinion  as  to  the  period  when  it  was  made,  and  many  date 
it  in  the  time  of  Titus,  who  lived  A.D.  40  to  81.  But  the 
weight  of  argument  seems  to  me  to  rest  with  those  who  be- 
lieve that  it  was  made  at  Rhodes  in  the  time  of  the  Diadochi. 

The  group  in  the  Vatican  is  probably  a  copy,  because 
Pliny  says  that  the  original  was  made  of  one  block,  and 
that  of  the  Vatican  is  composed  of  six  pieces.  Pliny  also 
tells  us  that  the  Laocoon  was  the  work  of  three  sculptors, 
Agesander,  Polydorus,  and  Athenodorus.  The  Vati- 
can group  was  found  in  1506  in  the  excavation  of  the  Baths 
of  Titus,  in  Rome,  and  was  placed  in  its  present  position  by 
Pope  Julius  II.  (Fig.  51).  The  right  arm  of  Laocoon  was 
missing,  and  Michael  Angelo  attempted  to  restore  it,  but 
left  it  incomplete  ;  Montorsoli  made  an  unsatisfactory  at- 
tempt for  its  restoration,  and  the  arm  as  it  now  is  was  made 
by  Cornacini,  and  more  straight  than  it  should  be. 

The  story  which  these  statues  illustrate  is  told  in  the 
second  book  of  the  ^neid,  and  says  that  Laocoon  was  a 
priest  of  Apollo  at  Troy,  who,  when  the  Greeks  left  the 
wooden  horse  outside  the  city  and  pretended  to  sail  away, 
warned  the  Trojans  against  taking  the  horse  inside  the 
walls  ;  he  also  struck  his  spear  into  the  side  of  the  monster. 
But  Sinon,  who  had  been  left  behind  by  the  Greeks,  per- 
suaded the  Trojans  that  the  horse  would  prove  a  blessing  to 
them,  and  they  drew  it  into  the  city,  and  ordered  feasts  and 
sacrifices  to  be  celebrated  to  do  honor  to  the  occasion. 
Laocoon  had  much  offended  Pallas  Athene  by  his  words 
and  acts,  and  when  he  went  to  prepare  a  sacrifice  to  Nep- 
tune that  goddess  sent  two  huge  serpents  up  out  of  the  sea 


THE   LAOCOON   GROUP. 


75 


to  destroy  him  and  his  two  sons,  who  were  with  him  by  the 
altar.  When  the  three  victims  were  dead  the  fearful  crea- 
tures went  to  the  Acropolis  and  disappeared. 


Fig.  51. — The  Laocoon  Group. 


In  the  Laocoon  group  it  appears  that  the  eldest  son  will 
save  himself,  and  in  certain  minor  points  the  sculptors  seem 
not  to  have  followed  the  account  of  Virgil  ;  but  we  see 
that  it  must  be  the  same  story  that  is  illustrated,  and  we 


76 


SCULPTURE. 


know  that  it  was  told  with  some  variation  by  other  poet?. 
This  group  is  a  wonderful  piece  of  sculpture,  but  it  is  not 
of  the  highest  art,  and  it  is  far  from  pleasant  to  look  at. 
The  same  is  true  of  another  famous  group  which  is  in 
Naples,  and  which  is  also  from  the  Rhodian  school. 

I  mean  the  Farnesian  Bull,  or  the  Toro  Farnese.  This 
group  was  made  by  APOLLONlUS  and  Tauriscus,  who  are 
believed  to  have  been  brothers.  It  was  probably  made  at 
Tralles,  in  Caria,  which  was  their  native  place,  and  sent  by 
them  to  Rhodes,  the  great  art-centre  ;  from  Rhodes  it  was 
sent  to  Rome,  where  it  was  in  the  possession  of  Asinius 
Pollio.  This  splendid  group,  which  is  probably  the  origi- 
nal work,  was  found  in  the  Baths  of  Caracalla,  in  1546,  and 
was  first  placed  in  the  Farnese  Palace,  from  which  it 
was  removed  to  the  National  Museum  in  Naples,  in  1786 

(Fig.  52). 

This  group  tells  a  part  of  the  story  of  Dirce,  who  had 
incurred  the  hatred  and  displeasure  of  Antiope,  the  mother 
of  Amphion,  who  was  King  of  Thebes  and  the  husband  of 
Niobe.  In  order  to  appease  the  wrath  of  his  mother, 
Amphion,  with  the  aid  of  his  twin-brother  Zethus,  bound 
Dirce  to  the  horns  of  a  wild  bull  to  be  dashed  to  pieces. 
All  this  takes  place  on  Mount  Cithaeron,  and  it  is  said  that 
after  Dirce  had  suffered  horrible  agonies  the  god  Dionysus 
changed  her  into  a  fountain,  which  always  remains  upon  this 
mountain. 

In  this  piece  of  sculpture,  dreadful  as  the  idea  is,  there 
is  less  of  horror  than  in  the  Laocoon,  for  the  reason  that  the 
moment  chosen  is  that  just  before  the  climax  of  the  catas- 
trophe, while  in  the  Laocoon  it  is  in  its  midst.  The  latter 
group  is  made  to  be  seen  from  but  one  side,  and  was  prob- 
ably intended  for  a  niche  ;  but  the  Farnese  Bull  is  perfect, 
and  presents  a  finished  aspect  on  all  sides  and  from  every 
point  of  view.  There  are  numerous  accessories  and  much 
attention  to  detail,  while  the  rocky  base  represents  Mount 


THE   FARNESE    BULL. 


77 


Cithaeron  and  the  vvildness  of  the  scene  in  a  manner  not 
before  known  in  sculpture.  The  group  has  been  much 
restored,  but  its  excellences  support  the  theory  of  its  being 
the  original  work  of  the  Greek  artists,  and  the  skill  with 


Fig.  52. — The  Farnese  Bull. 


which  the  various  figures  are  brought  into  one  stupendous 
moment  is  such  as  commands  great  praise  and  admiration  ; 
it  is  doubtful  if  any  other  work  of  sculpture  tells  its  story 
with  power  equal  to  that  of  this  celebrated  group. 


78 


SCULPTURE. 


After  the  art  of  Rhodes  that  of  Pergamon  was  impor- 
tant. When  Attains  I.,  King  of  Pergamon,  gained  his  vic- 
tory over  the  Gauls,  in  B.C.  229,  the  Greek  artists  were 
aroused  to  new  efforts  to  record  in  sculpture  the  great 
deeds  of  Attains  and  to  place  him  on  a  level  with  the  glori- 
ous heroes  of  their  nation  who  had  preceded  him.  It  is 
recorded  that  the  conqueror  himself  offered  four  groups  of 
statues  at  Athens,  and  that  they  stood  on  the  southern  wall 
of  the  Acropolis.  The  subjects  were  :  "  The  Battle  of  the 
Gods  and  Giants,"  "The  Battle  of  Athenians  and  Ama- 
zons," "  The  Battle  of  Marathon,"  and  "  The  Destruction 
of  the  Gauls  in  Mysia  by  Attains."  Thus  the  different 
epochs  ;'bfrGrec^  history  were  represented,  and  Attains 
placed  himself -fiear  the  other  great  warriors  who  had  pre- 
served the  honor  and  freedom  of  their  nation.  These 
groups  consisted  of  many  figures,  and  are  estimated  to  have 
been  from  sixty  to  eighty  in  number.  It  is  believed  that  at 
least  ten  of  them  are  now  in  European  collections— that  is, 

three  in  Venice,  four  in 
Naples,  one  in  Paris, 
one  in  the  Vatican,  and 
the  last  in  the  Castel- 
lani  collection  in  Rome. 
This  picture  of  one  of 
those  in  Venice  seems 
to  represent  a  warrior 
who  has  been  sudden- 
ly thrown  down  ;  his 
weapons  and  shield — 
which  last  was  probably 
held  in  the  left  hand — 
have  been  dropped  in 
the  violence  of  the  shock  which  has  prostrated  him  (Fig. 
53).  His  face  and  hair  are  of  the  barbarian  type,  and  the 
power  and  elasticity  of   his  powerful   frame  are  manifest 


Fig.  53. — Gallic  Warrior.      Venice. 


GREEK   SCULPTURE— PERGAMON. 


79 


even  in  this  moment  of  his  defeat.  He  is  yet  unwounded, 
but  the  weapon  of  his  adversary  may  be  before  his  eyes, 
and  in  another  moment  he  may  sink  back  in  the  agony  of 
death. 

It  is  now  beHeved  that  the  statue  of  the  Dying  Gaul, 
often  called  the  Dying  Gladiator,  was  the  work  of  a  sculptor 
of  Pergamon,  and  represents  a  Gaul  who  has  killed  him- 
self rather  than  submit  as  a  slave  to  his  conquerors.  The 
moment  had  come  when  he  could  not  escape,  and  he 
chose  death  rather  than  humiHation.     We  learn  from  his- 


FiG.  54. — The  Dying  Gaul. 

tory  that  when  these  barbarians  saw  that  all  was  lost  they 
frequently  slew  their  wives  and  children  and  then  them- 
selves, to  avoid  being  taken  as  prisoners,  which  really  meant 
being  made  slaves.  This  warrior  has  thrown  himself  upon 
his  shield  ;  his  battle-horn  is  broken,  and  the  sword  which 
has  given  him  the  freedom  of  death  has  fallen  from  his 
hand.  His  eye  is  already  dim,  his  right  arm  can  scarce 
sustain  him,  his  brow  is  contracted  with  pain,  and  it  seems 
as  if  a  sigh  escaped  his  lips.  He  has  not  the  noble  form  of 
the  Greeks  ;  we  do  not  feel  the  exalted  spirit  which  is 
shown  in  the  death  scenes  of  some  of  the  Periclean  statue 


8o 


SCULPTURE. 


heroes  ;  here  it  is  only  a  rude,  barbarous  Gaul,  suffering 
death  as  a  brute  might  ;  it  is  very  realistic,  and  when  we 
are  near  the  marble  itself  we  see  the  coarseness  of  the  skin, 
the  hardened  soles  of  the  feet,  the  coarse  hand,  and  we  are 
sure  the  artist  must  have  made  a  true  representation  of  this 
wild,  savage  man,  who  yet  had  the  nobility  of  nature  which 
would  not  live  to  be  enslaved  (Fig.  54). 

These  illustrations  and  remarks  will  give  you  some  idea 
of  the  art  of  Pergamon,  and  I  shall  now  leave  the  subject  of 
Greek  sculpture  after  some  account  of  BOETHUS  OF  Chal- 
CEDOX.  His  date  is  very  uncertain,  though  we  have  ac- 
counts of  his  works  by  ancient  writers.  Some  scholars 
believe  that  he  lived  about  B.C.  275.  Many  works  in  chased 
silver  made  by  Boethus  were  in  the  temple  of  Athena  in 
Lindus  in  the  time  of  the  historian  Pliny  ;  there  are 
accounts  of  a  figure  of  a  boy  made  in  gold  and  one  of  the 

youthful  Asclepius  ;  but  the  Boy 
Strangling  a  Goose,  in  the  gallery  of 
the  Louvre,  is  his  most  interesting 
work  for  us  (Fig.  55).  You  will 
remember  that  even  the  ancient 
Egyptians  made  caricatures  and 
playful,  mocking  pictures  not  unlike 
some  of  our  own  day.  This  boy  and 
goose  are  of  the  same  spirit,  and  is 
intended  as  a  parody  on  the  repre- 
sentations of  Hercules  struggling 
with  the  Nemean  lion,  which  had 
been  represented  many  times  by 
Greek  artists.  The  boy  seems  to  be 
working  as  hard  as  any  giant  could 
do.  The  execution  of  this  work  is 
fine.  It  was  probably  made  for  a  fountain,  the  water 
coming  through  the  beak  of  the  goose.  There  are  several 
works  of  ancient  sculpture  which  are  of  the  same  spirit,  and 


Fig.  55. — Boy  AND  Goose. 


BOETHUS   OF   CHALCEDON. 


8i 


ior  this  reason  are  attributed  to  Boethus.  The  Spinario,  or 
Thorn-extractor,  in  the  museum  of  the  Capitol,  at  Rome, 
is  one  of  the  most  charming 
pieces  of  genre  statuary  in 
existence  (Fig.  56). 

It  represents  a  boy  taking 
a  thorn  from  his  foot.  His 
•attitude  is  natural  and  grace- 
ful, and  the  purity  and  sim- 
rplicity  of  its  style  places  it  on 
.an  equality  with  works  of  the 
[best  period  of  sculpture.  The 
expression  of  the  face  is  that 
•of  perfect  absorption  in  what 
he  is  doing,  and  is  given  with 
great  skill  and  truthfulness. 
The  treatment  of  the  hair  is 
like  that  of  the  archaic  pe- 
riod, and  there  will  always  be 
some  critics  who  cannot  think  that  such  perfection  could 
^xist  in  the  sculpture  of  what  we  call  the  Alexandrian  age. 


Fig.  56. — Spinario. 


CHAPTER    III. 


ANCIENT   ITALIAN   SCULPTURE. 


ANCIENT  Italian  sculpture  was  essentially  Greek  in  its 
spirit,  and  originated  with  the  Etruscans,  a  very  ancient 
people  in  Italy.  There  are  traces  of  an  Oriental  influence 
in  the  art  of  Etruria  —  a  suggestion  of  the  sculpture  of 
Egypt  and  Assyria,  just  as  there  is  in  Greek  archaic  art ; 
but  the  real  feeling  and  spirit  of  it  is  Greek,  and  must  have 
been  borrowed  from  Greece  in  some  way. 

The  different  theories  and  opinions  about  the  Etruscans 
and  their  origin  do  not  concern  us  here  ;  we  have  to  do 
only  with  their  sculpture  as  it  is  seen  in  the  remnants  of  it 
now  in  existence.  In  the  beginning  the  Etruscans  made 
their  statues  of  clay  ;  marble  was  very  rarely  used.  Later 
on  they  learned  the  art  of  working  in  bronze,  and  carried  it 
to  great  perfection.  Their  bronze  works  were  so  numerous 
that  in  B.C.  295  Fulvius  Flaccus  is  said  to  have  carried  away 
two  thousand  statues  from  Volsinii  alone.  Some  of  their  fig- 
ures were  colossal,  but  the  greater  number  were  statuettes. 

There  are  some  Etruscan  bronzes  remaining  in  the 
museums  of  Europe.  The  Etruscans  always  were  copyists 
rather  than  original  artists  ;  but  they  copied  such  excellent 
things,  and  did  it  so  well,  that  their  productions  are  by  no 
means  to  be  despised,  and  the  skill  which  they  acquired 
caused  their  bronze  and  metal  work  to  be  highly  valued,, 
even  in  Athens  itself. 


ANCIENT   ITALIAN   SCULPTURE.  83 

The  Etruscans  were  physically  a  more  luxurious  people 
than  the  Greeks,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  pictures  of  them 
which  still  remain  in  the  tombs  of  Corneto  and  other  places. 
They  gave  much  attention  to  luxury  of  living,  and  the 
richly  decorated  goblets  and  other  articles  of  table  furniture 
which  they  made  may  be  seen  in  the  Vatican  and  British 
Museum,  while  the  delicate  and  artistic  gold  work  of  their 
personal  ornaments  is  still  much  admired  and  copied  dili- 
gently. 

The  Romans  as  a  people  were  patrons  of  art  rather  than 
artists.  They  seem  from  very  early  days  to  have  admired 
the  plastic  art  of  other  nations  ;  but  of  Romans  themselves 
there  were  very  few  sculptors  ;  their  artists  were  architects 
of  grand  structures  rather  than  workers  in  the  lesser  monu- 
ments of  artistic  skill  and  genius.  At  first,  as  we  have  said, 
they  relied  upon  the  Etruscans,  who  built  their  earliest 
temples  and  adorned  them  with  sculptures,  and  the  first 
record  which  we  have  of  Greek  artists  working  in  Rome 
gives  us  the  names  of  Damophilus  and  Gorgasus,  who  deco- 
rated the  temple  of  Ceres  with  paintings  and  sculptures. 
This  temple  was  consecrated  in  B.C.  493  ;  if  its  adornment 
was  of  the  same  date,  the  knowledge  of  Greek  art  was 
brought  to  Rome  at  a  very  early  period — at  least  fifty-six 
years  before  the  completion  of  the  Parthenon. 

But  the  means  by  which  the  whole  Roman  people  were 
made  familiar  with  the  beauties  of  Greek  art  are  to  be 
found  in  another  direction.  It  was  not  the  building  of 
their  own  temples,  or  any  work  done  by  Greek  artists  in 
Rome,  that  gave  the  Romans  their  love  and  appreciation 
for  art  ;  it  was  rather  the  art  spoils  seized  by  their  victori- 
ous leaders  and  brought  home  to  adorn  and  beautify  every 
portion  of  the  Eternal  City.  In  B.C.  212  Marcellus  carried 
to  Rome  the  spoils  he  had  taken  at  Syracuse  ;  he  exhibited 
them  in  his  triumphal  procession,  and  afterward  consecrated 
them  in  the  temple  of  Honor  and  Valor  which  he  built. 


84  SCULPTURE. 

From  this  time  it  was  the  fashion  to  bring  home  all  the 
choice  things  that  Roman  conquerors  could  seize,  and  the 
number  of  beautiful  objects  thus  gained  for  Rome  was 
marvellous. 

When  Flaminius  defeated  Philip  of  Macedon  it  required 
two  days  to  gather  up  the  spoils.  After  Fulvius  Nobilior 
conquered  the  /Etolians  he  brought  Greek  artists  to  Rome 
to  arrange  his  festivities,  and  he  exhibited  five  hundred  and 
fifteen  bronze  and  marble  statues  which  he  had  taken  from 
the  defeated  people.  When  Perseus  of  Macedon  was  over- 
come by  yEmilius  Paulus  it  required  two  hundred  and  fifty 
wagons  to  remove  the  pictures  and  statues  alone  which  he 
displayed  in  his  triumphal  procession  ;  among  these  treas- 
ures there  was  a  statue  of  Athena  by  Phidias  himself.  This 
work  of  spoiling  the  Grecian  cities  which  came  into  their 
power  was  diligently  carried  on  by  Mummius,  Sulla,  and 
others,  until  at  length  the  Emperor  Augustus  removed 
many  of  the  archaic  sculptures  to  Rome.  But  the  works 
which  best  pleased  the  Romans  were  those  of  the  later 
school  of  Athens.  The  ruling  gods  at  Rome  were  Mars, 
Bacchus,  and  Venus,  and  the  statues  of  these  deities  were 
much  valued. 

So  far,  to  the  time  of  Augustus,  the  statues  and  other 
objects  removed  had  been  the  spoils  of  war  ;  but  Caligula 
and  Nero  did  not  hesitate  to  go  in  times  of  peace  and  act 
the  part  of  robbers.  Tht  first  sent  a  consul  in  A.D.  31  with 
orders  to  bring  the  best  works  of  art  from  Greece  to  Rome 
to  adorn  his  villas  ;  Nero  went  so  far  as  to  send  his  agents 
to  bring  even  the  images  of  the  deities  from  the  most  sacred 
temples,  together  with  the  offerings  made  to  them,  for  the 
decoration  of  his  Golden  House  ;  it  is  said  that  from  Delphi 
alone  he  received  five  hundred  statues  of  bronze. 

At  first  the  larger  number  of  these  art  spoils  were  so 
placed  as  to  be  constantly  seen  by  the  whole  Roman  peo- 
ple, and  there   is   no   doubt   that   their   influence  was  very 


THE   VENUS   DE'    MEDICI.  85 

great  and  went  far  to  refine  their  ideas  and  to  prepare  the 
way  for  the  polish  and  grace  of  the  Augustan  age.  Very 
soon  the  individual  desire  for  works  of  art  was  felt,  and 
wealthy  men  began  to  decorate  their  homes  with  pictures 
and  statues  ;  and  at  last  these  things  were  thought  to  be 
necessary  to  the  proper  enjoyment  of  life. 

From  all  these  causes  there  came  about  a  revival  of 
Greek  art  under  the  Romans,  and  in  it  many  beautiful 
works  were  produced.  Indeed,  the  greater  portion  of  the 
sculptures  which  are  now  the  pride  of  the  collections  ail 
over  Europe  belong  to  this  period.  It  cannot  be  said  that 
the  artists  of  this  date  originated  much,  but  they  followed 
the  greatest  masters  that  ever  lived  ;  and  if  they  repeated 
their  subjects  they  so  changed  them  to  suit  the  spirit  of 
their  time  that  they  gave  their  works  a  certain  effect  of 
being  something  new,  and  threw  their  own  individuality 
about  them. 

The  list  of  names  which  can  be  given  as  belonging  to 
Greek  sculptors  who  worked  at  Rome  is  long,  and  would 
have  little  interest  here.  Instead  of  speaking  of  the  artists 
I  shall  speak  of  the  most  famous  works  of  the  time  which 
remain  ;  most  of  these  are  so  placed  that  they  are  seen  by 
travellers,  and  have  become  familiar  to  all  the  world. 

The  beautiful  statue  which  is  known  as  the  Venus  de' 
Medici  is  so  called  because  after  its  discovery  it  rested  for  a 
time  in  the  Medici  Palace  in  Ronie.  It  was  found  in  the 
seventeenth  century  in  the  Portico  of  Octavia  at  Rome, 
and  was  broken  into  eleven  fragments.  The  arms  from  the 
elbows  down  are  restored  ;  when  it  was  found  it  had  traces 
of  gilding  on  the  hair  ;  the  ears  are  pierced,  as  if  gold 
rings  had  sometimes  been  placed  in  them.  In  1680  Duke 
Cosmo  III.  removed  it  to  Florence,  where  it  is  the  chief 
glory  of  the  famous  Tribune  of  the  Uffizi  Gallery.  Many 
persons  believe  this  to  have  been  a  copy  of  the  renowned 
Cnidian   Venus  by   Praxiteles,  of   which    I   have  told  you. 


86 


SCULPTURE. 


This  Venus  de'  Medici  was  the  work  of  an  Athenian  artist 
named  Cleomenes.  He  was  the  son  of  ApoUodorus,  a 
sculptor  who  lived  in  Rome  in  the  first  or  second  century 
of  the  Christian  era.     (Fig.  57.) 

The  aim  of  the  sculptor  was  not  to  make  a  goddess,  and 
his  work  lacks  the  dignity  which  was  thrown  around  the 

more  ancient  statues  of   Venus.     Cleo- 
menes endeavored  to  produce  a  lovely 
woman    in    the    youth    of    her    beauty. 
Some  critics  believe  that  this  Venus  is 
intended  to  represent  the  moment  when 
that  goddess  stood  before  Paris  for  judg- 
ment.     If  this  story  is  not  well  known  I 
will    tell    how  when   Peleus  and  Thetis 
were  married  they  invited  all  the  gods 
to  their  wedding  save  the  goddess  Dis- 
cordia,  and  she  was  so  offended  by  this 
slight  that  she  threw  into  the  midst  of 
the  assembly  a  golden  apple  on  which 
were  the  words,"  To  the  fairest."   Juno, 
Minerva,  and  Venus  all  claimed  it,  and 
Jupiter  sent   Mercury  to  conduct  these 
three  beautiful  goddesses  to   Paris,  that 
he  might  decide  to  which  it  belonged. 
His  decision  gave  the  apple   to  Venus; 
and    this   so    excited    the   jealousy   and 
hatred  of  the  others  that  a  long  list  of 
serious    troubles    arose    until    Paris  was 
driven  out  of   Greece,  and,  going  to  the 
house  of  Menelaus,  he  saw  and  loved  Helen,  carried  her  off 
to  Troy,  and  thus  brought  on  the  Trojan  war  of  which  the 
world  has  heard  so  much  ever  since.      If   I  were  writing  a 
Sunday-school   book  I  could  draw  many  lessons  from  this 
story  ;  but  as  I  am  only  writing  about  art,  I  will  go  back 
and  remind  you  that  many  persons  try  to  study  these  old 


Fig.  57. — Venus  de' 
Medici. 


THE   VENUS   OF   MILO.  8/ 

Statues  and  to  find  out  exactly  what  they  mean  ;  some  such 
students  say  that  the  moment  when  Paris  pronounced 
Venus  to  be  the  most  lovely  of  the  goddesses  is  the  time 
represented  by  the  sculptor  of  the  Venus  de'  Medici. 

As  Venus  was  the  goddess  of  Love  and  Beauty,  it  was 
natural  that  statues  of  her  should  be  multiplied.  The  Chigi 
Venus  in  the  Vatican  has  much  the  same  pose  as  the  Venus 
de'  Medici,  but  she  holds  the  end  of  a  fringed  garment  in 
her  hand.  The  Venus  of  the  Capitol,  in  Rome,  is  larger 
than  these  ;  the  Venus  Callipiga,  which  was  found  in  the 
Golden  House  of  Nero,  and  is  now  in  the  Museum  of 
Naples,  is  also  worthy  of  being  mentioned  in  company  with 
these  other  exquisite  sculptures. 

However,  there  is  yet  another  Venus  more  admirable 
and  more  praised  than  these.  She  is  called  the  Venus  of 
Milo,  or  Melos,  and  is  in  the  gallery  of  the  Louvre,  at 
Paris.  This  statue  is  probably  of  a  later  date  than  those  of 
which  we  have  spoken,  and  is  thought  to  be  the  work  of 
Alexandros,  the  son  of  Menides  of  Antiocheia,  or  one  of 
those  sculptors  who  are  called  Asiatic  Greeks.  It  is  said 
that  the  base  of  this  statue  with  the  name  of  the  artist 
upon  it  was  destroyed,  for  the  purpose  of  leading  the  King 
of  France  to  believe  it  to  be  more  ancient  than  it  really  is 
(Fig.  58,  fro7itispiece). 

This  magnificent  statue  was  discovered  in  1820  by  a 
peasant  of  the  town  of  Melos,  or  Milo,  on  the  island  of  the 
same  name.  It  was  in  a  niche  of  a  wall  which  had  long 
been  buried.  The  Marquis  of  Riviere,  who  was  the  French 
Ambassador  at  Constantinople,  purchased  it  and  presented 
it  to  King  Louis  XVIII.,  who  placed  it  in  the  Louvre.  It 
is  made  from  two  blocks  of  marble  joined  above  the  drapery 
which  envelops  the  legs.  As  the  statue  now  stands  it  has 
the  tip  of  the  nose  and  the  foot  which  projects  beyond  the 
drapery  as  they  have  been  restored  by  modern  artists. 

This  is  the  only  Venus  which  has  come  down  to  us  from 


88  SCULPTURE. 

the  past  which  represents  a  goddess  rather  than  a  beautiful 
woman.  The  form  has  beauty  of  the  highest  type,  but  it 
has  a  grandeur  which  exalts  it  far  above  mere  beauty.  The 
pure,  majestic  expression  of  the  head  and  face  speak  the 
calm  dignity  of  a  superior  being.  I  shall  quote  from  Perry, 
who  says  :  "  The  Venus  de  Milo  is  justly  admired,  not  only 
for  the  grandeur  of  its  design,  the  perfection  of  its  propor- 
tion, and  the  exquisite  moulding  of  the  superb  and  luxuri- 
ant form,  but  for  the  vivid  freshness  of  the  flesh  and  the 
velvet  softness  of  the  skin,  in  which  it  stands  unrivalled  in 
ancient  and  modern  art.  The  extraordinary  skill  with 
which  minute  details,  such  as  the  folds  of  the  skin  in  the 
neck,  are  harmonized  with  the  ideal  beauty  of  the  whole  is 
beyond  all  imitation  and  all  praise.  The  life-like  effect  of 
this  wonderful  masterpiece  is  greatly  enhanced  by  the  rare 
and  perfect  preservation  of  the  epidermis  and  by  the  beauti- 
ful warm,  yellowish  tinge  which  the  lapse  of  centuries  has 
given  to  the  marble." 

In  the  Museum  at  Naples  is  the  Farnesian  Hercules, 
which  was  found  in  the  Baths  of  Caracalla,  in  Rome,  in 
1540.  It  was  first  placed  in  the  Farnese  Palace,  and  from 
that  circumstance  received  the  name  by  which  it  is  known. 
It  is  the  work  of  Glycon,  an  Athenian,  and  his  name  is  in- 
scribed upon  it.  There  is  little  doubt  that  this  is  a  copy  of 
a  more  ancient  statue  by  the  great  Lysippus  ;  that  master 
created  representations  of  Hercules  in  all  ages  and  forms. 
Glycon  probably  worked  in  the  time  of  Hadrian  ;  and 
though  he  copied  the  design  and  form  of  Lysippus,  he 
exaggerated  some  points  so  as  to  injure  the  effect  of  the 
whole.  For  example,  the  head  is  small  in  proportion  to 
the  breadth  of  the  breast  and  shoulders  ;  and  because  Her- 
cules was  a  swift  runner  the  sculptor  has  made  the  legs  too 
long  to  be  natural.  It  is  in  such  particulars  as  these  that 
the  decline  of  art  may  be  traced,  even  in  works  that  com- 
mand admiration  (Fig.  59). 


THE   FARNESIAN   HERCULES. 


89 


The  moment  in  which  the  god  is  represented  is  that 
which  immediately  followed  his  securing  the  apples  of  the 
Hesperides,  the  wedding  present  of  Ge  to  Juno.  Of  all  the 
labors  of  Hercules,  perhaps  this  was  the  most  arduous. 
Juno  had  left  these  apples  with  the  Hesperides  for  safe- 
keeping. These  goddesses  lived  on  Mount  Atlas,  and  the 
serpent  Ladon  helped  them  to  guard  their  precious  trust. 
Hercules  did  not  know  just  where 
the  apples  were  kept,  and  this  made 
his  task  all  the  more  difficult. 
When,  therefore,  he  arrived  at 
Mount  Atlas  he  offered  to  hold  up 
the  world  for  Atlas  if  he  would  go 
and  fetch  the  apples.  This  Atlas 
did,  but  refused  to  take  the  weight 
from  Hercules  again.  However, 
Hercules  took  the  apples  and  hast- 
ened to  his  master,  Eurystheus, 
with  them.  While  performing  this 
labor  he  had  a  terrible  struggle 
with  Ladon,  and  some  accounts 
say  that  he  killed  the  monster. 

Now,  the  statue  represents  the 
god  with  the  apples  in  his  right 
hand,  the  world  held  on  his  back, 
while  he  leans  heavily  on  his  club 
covered  with  a  lion's  skin.     All  the 

muscles  of  his  body  are  swollen  from  his  struggle  ;  his  head 
droops,  his  whole  expression  of  face  and  form  is  that  of 
sadness  and  weariness.  The  youthfulness  and  strength 
with  which  the  older  sculptors  invested  him  is  not  here.  It 
is  a  splendid  work,  but  it  is  not  of  the  best  ;  it  belongs  to 
an  age  when  there  was  too  much  straining  after  effect,  when 
the  moderation  of  the  best  Greek  masters  did  not  satisfy 
the  spirit  of  the  time  ;  and  no  sculptor  lived  whose  power 
equalled  that  of  Phidias  or  Lysippus. 


Fig. 


59. — The  Farnesian 
Hercules. 


90 


SCULPTURE. 


There  are  some  reliefs  and  vases  of  this  Roman  period 
that  are  ver>^  interesting.  I  shall  speak  of  but  one  relief — 
the  Sacrifice  of  Iphigenia,  which  is  in  Florence.  It  is  called 
the  work  of  Cleomenes,  and  his  name  is  inscribed  upon  it  ; 
but  there  is  some  doubt  as  to  the  genuineness  of  the  inscrip- 
tion. This  relief  is 
very  beautiful.  It 
represents  a  priest 
cutting  off  the  hair 
of  the  lovely  maid- 
en as  a  preparation 
for  her  sacrifice. 

The  story  runs 
that  Iphigenia  was 
the  daughter  of 
Agamemnon,  who 
killed  a  hart  sacred 
to  Diana.  To  re- 
venge this  act  the 
goddess  becalmed 
the  Greek  fleet  on 
its  way  to  Aulis. 
The  seer  Calchas 
advised  Agamem- 
non to  sacrifice  his 
daughter  to  appease 
Diana  ;  this  he  con- 
sented to  do,  but 
Diana  put  a  hart  in 
the  place  of  the  maiden,  whom  she  bore  to  Tauris  and 
made  a  priestess.  In  this  relief  the  maiden  has  an  air  of 
resigned  grief  ;  her  father  stands  by  himself  with  his  head 
covered.  The  sculptor  of  this  relief  was  not  the  first  who 
had  represented  Agamemnon  thus,  for  a  painter,  Timanthes, 
had  made  a  picture  of  this  subject  about  B.C.  400,  and   in 


Fig.  60. — The  Apollo  Belvedere. 


THE   APOLLO   BELVEDERE. 


91 


Fig. 


61. — Head  of  Apollo 
Belvedere. 


describing  it  Quintilian  said  that  **\vhen  he  had  painted 
Calchas  sad,  Ulysses  sadder,  and  had  represented  in  the 
face  of  Menelaus  the  most  poignant 
grief  that  art  can  express,  having 
exhausted  the  deepest  feelings  and 
finding  no  means  of  worthily  por- 
traying the  countenance  of  the  fa- 
ther, he  covered  his  head  and  left 
it  to  every  man's  own  heart  to  es- 
timate his  sufferings." 

I  come  now  to  the  Apollo  Bel- 
vedere, one  of  the  most  celebrated 
of  all  the  statues  in  the  Vatican, 
and  the  best  known  and  most  uni- 
versally admired  of  all  the  ancient 
statues  which  remain  to  us.  It 
was  found  at  about  the  end  of  the 
fifteenth    century    at    the    ancient 

city  of  Antium,  where  it  probably 
made  one  of  the  ornaments  of  the 
Imperial  Palace.  The  authorities 
upon  such  subjects  have  never  yet 
agreed  as  to  whether  the  marble 
from  which  it  is  cut  is  a  marble  of 
Greece  or  of  Italy  (Fig.  60). 

This  statue  has  been  lauded  in 
all  tongues  of  the  civilized  w^orld, 
and  nothing  could  be  added  to 
what  has  been  said  in  its  praise  ; 
and  yet  all  who  see  it  wish  to  exalt 
it  still  higher  if  possible.  A  few 
years  ago  another  head  of  Apollo, 
of  Greek  marble,  was  found  in  a 
magazine  in  Rome,  by  Herr  Steinhauser,  by  whose  name  it 
is  known  ;  it  is  now  in  the  museum  at  Basle  (Figs.  61,  62). 


Fig.  62.— The  Steinhauser 
Head. 


92 


SCULPTURE. 


Though  this  statue  has  been  so  much  studied  and 
admired  it  has  never  yet  been  satisfactorily  explained,  and 
there  are  several  important  questions  about  it  which  cannot 
be  answered  with  certainty.  Nothing  is  known  of  its  age 
or  of  the  name  of  its  sculptor.  It  is  not  described  by  any 
ancient  writer,  neither  can  any  one  say  whether  it  is  an 
•original  or  a  copy  ;  and  above  all  in  importance  is  the  ques- 
tion of  what  this  beautiful  young  god  is  doing — what  is  the 
meaning  of  it  ? 

The  answers  of  the  authorities  to  these  queries  vary  so 
much  that  here  I  shall  only  mention  the  theory  which  1 
love,  and  which  is  accepted  by  many.     When  the  statue  was 

found  the  left  hand  was  missing, 
and  a  bow  was  believed  to  have 
been  the  article  which  it  held  ; 
and  it  was  said  that  Apollo  had 
just  shot  an  arrow  on  some  dread- 
ful flight,  and  was  watching  for 
its  effect.  This  theory  was  the 
principal  one  until  i860,  when  a 
scholar,  Stephani,  called  attention 
to  the  fact  that  in  St.  Petersburg 
there  is  a  bronze  statuette,  less 
than  two  feet  high,  which  is  al- 
most exactly  the  same  as  the 
Apollo  Belvedere — too  nearly  the 
same  to  be  an  accidental  likeness. 
Now,  as  this  is  an  antique  bronze, 
it  seems  to  prove  that  both  it  and 
the  marble  of  the  Vatican  are 
copies  of  an  ancient  work.  The 
statuette  is  called  the  Stroganoff 
Apollo,  because  it  belongs  to  the  collection  of  a  nobleman 
of  that  name.  It  is  believed  to  be  one  of  a  number  of 
bronzes  which  were  found  near  Janina  in   1792,  and  given 


Fig.  63.— The  Stroganoff 
AroLLO. 


THE   STROGANOFF  APOLLO.  93 

by   the   son    of    Ali    Pasha   to    his   physician,    Dr.    Frank 

(Fig.  63). 

The  chief  importance  of  this  discovery  was  the  fact  that 
the  left  hand  was  perfect,  and  did  not  hold  a  bow,  but  some 
soft,   elastic  substance  which  Stephani  believes  to  be    the 
CEO-is,    or   shield,    of    Jupiter,    on    which    was   the  head   of 
M^edusa.     The  sight  of  this  shield  paralyzed  those  who  saw 
it  •  and  though  it  belonged  to  Jupiter  and  Minerva,  Jupiter 
sometimes  lent  it  to  his  son  Apollo  to  aid  him  m  his  war- 
fare ;  such  instances  are  recorded  by  Homer.     After  Ste- 
phani had   told  his  idea  of  it,  the  German  scholar  Ludwig 
Preller  pointed  out  what  seems  to  be  the  true  meanmg  of 
it  by  suggesting  that  Apollo  was  extending  this  dreadful 
cEgis  before  the  sight  of  the  Gauls  at  Delphi,  in  B.C.  279. 
History  relates  that  when  the  Gauls  approached  Delphi  the 
people  asked  the  oracle  if  they  should  carry  away  and  con- 
ceal the  treasures  of  the  temple.     The  oracle  replied,  "  I 
myself    and    the   White    Maidens    (meaning   Athena   and 
Artemis)   will   take    care    of   that."     Then    four  thousand 
Greeks  stood  by  ready  to  defend  the  sacred  place  ;  but  in 
the  midst  of  the  battle  the  youthful  god  came  down  through 
the  roof  of  the  temple,  and  the  White  Maidens  left  their 
own  altars  to  aid  him  in  driving  back  the  barbarous  foe.     A 
great  tempest  arose,  and  rocks  fell  from   Parnassus  on  the 
heads  of  the  Gauls,  and  it  seemed  as  if  all  the  powers  of 
heaven  and  earth  had  united  to  sustain  the  Greeks  against 
their  enemies.     It  is  also  written  that  the  spectres  of  Greek 
heroes  who  had  long  been  dead  were  seen  in  the  midst  of 
the  battle  dealing  death  upon  the  Gauls.     But  above  all  the 
fury  of  the  tempest  and  the  noise  of  war  the  clashing  of  the 
shield  and  spear  of  Athena  and  the  twanging  sound  of  the 
oft-discharged  bow  of  Artemis  were  heard,  while  the  flash 
of  the  awful  shield  of  Apollo  was  seen  to  be  even   more 
vivid  and  terrific  than  the  forked  lightnings  themselves. 
It   is  recorded   that    after   this   victory  two   statues   of 


94 


SCULPTURE. 


Apollo  and  one  each  of  Athena  and  Artemis  were  offered  in 
the  temple  of  Apollo  as  thank-offerings  for  its  preservation 
and  the  victory  over  the  Gauls.  It  is  delightful  to  regard 
the  Apollo  Belvedere  as  a  copy  of  one  of  these,  and  this 
view  of  it  is  most  satisfying.  Lubke,  in  speaking  of  this 
theory,  says  :  "  Not  till  now  have  we  understood  the  Apollo 
Belvedere.  In  unveiled  beauty  we  see  the  elegant  form  of 
the  slender  figure,  the  left  shoulder  only  being  covered  by 
the  chlamys,  which  falls  down  over  the  arm,  which,  far  out- 
stretched, holds  the  aegis  with  its  Medusa  head.  The  right 
arm  is  slightly  turned  aside,  but  both  hands  have  been  un- 
skilfully restored.  The  attitude  of  the  god  is  full  of  pathos, 
and  is  conceived  at  a  dramatic  moment.  Ardently  excited 
and  filled  with  divine  anger,  with  which  is  mingled  a  touch 
of  triumphant  scorn,  the  intellectual  head  is  turned  side- 
ward, while  the  figure,  with  elastic  step,  is  hastening  forward. 
The  eye  seems  to  shoot  forth  lightning  ;  there  is  an  expres- 
sion of  contempt  in  the  corners  of  the  mouth,  and  the  dis- 
tended nostrils  seem  to  breathe  forth  divine  anger.  It  is  a 
bold  attitude  thus  transfixed  in  marble,  full  of  life-like  and 
excited  action." 

In  the  Iliad  Homer  describes  the  scene  when  Jupiter 
gave  the  aegis  to  Apollo,  that  he  might  put  the  Achaeans  to 
flight  with  it.  In  connection  with  the  Apollo  Belvedere  it 
is  well  to  recall  that  description  which  is  thus  translated  by 
Lord  Derby 

"While  Phoebus  motionless  his  aegis  held, 
Thick  flew  the  shafts,  and  fast  the  people  fell 
On  either  side  ;  but  when  he  turned  its  flash 
Full  in  the  faces  of  the  astonished  Greeks, 
And  shouted  loud,  their  spirits  within  them  quailed, 
Their  fiery  courage  borne  in  mind  no  more." 

It  is  very  interesting  to  know  that  many  who  believe 
that  the  Apollo  Belvedere   represents  that  god   when  terri- 


DIANE   A    LA   BICHE. 


95 


fying  the  Gauls,  believe  also  that  the  statues  of  the  "  White 
Maidens"  rushing  forth  from  their  temples  to  aid  him  are 
in  existence,  the  Artemis  being  the  statue  at  the  Louvre 
known  as  ''Diane  a  la  Biche,"  and  the  Minerva  being  the 
Athena  with  spear  and  shield  in  the  museum  of  the  Capitol 

at  Rome. 

This  statue  of  Artemis,  or  Diana,  has  been  in  France 
since  the  time  of  Henry 
IV.  Formerly  it  was  at 
Versailles,  but  is  now  one 
of  the  treasures  of  the 
Louvre.  The  left  hand 
with  the  bow  is  restored. 
The  effect  of  the  figure  is 
that  of  lightness  combined 
with  strength.  She  is  go- 
ing forward  rapidly,  with 
her  eyes  fixed  on  some 
distant  object,  and  draws 
an  arrow  from  her  quiver 
even  as  she  flies.  This 
figure  corresponds  to  the 
Apollo  Belvedere  in  its 
spirit  -and  apparent  earn- 
estness of  purpose  ;  it  is 
of  the  same  proportions, 
and  in  such  details  of 
treatment  as  the  rich  sandals  it  plainly  belongs  to  the  time 
and  the  school  of  the  Apollo— indeed,  there  is  no  reason 
why  it  might  not  have  formed  a  part  of  a  group  in  which 
the  Apollo  stood.     (Fig.  64.) 

If  we  think  of  this  Diana  simply  as  an  ideal  huntress 
hastening  to  the  chase  the  statue  is  very  beautiful,  and  a 
remarkable  example  of  such  a  subject  ;  but  when  she  is 
regarded  as  one  of  the  *'  White  Maidens"  rushing  forth  to 


Fig.  64. — Diane  a  la  Biche. 


96 


SCULPTURE. 


aid  her  brother  in  defending  his  temple  against  a  barbarou? 
enemy  she  is  invested  with  a  deeper  interest  ;  she  become:, 
an  important  actor  in  a  terrible  drama,  and  those  of  us  who 

could  have  no  sympathy 
with  her  love  for  hunting 
are  roused  to  an  enthusiastic 
hope  that  she  will  succeed  in 
doing  her  part  to  turn  the 
savage  foe  away  from  the 
sacred  hill  of  Pytho,  and 
thus  preserve  its  temple  and 
its  treasures. 

The  statue  of  Athena, 
advancing  with  spear  and 
shield,  is  supposed  to  be  a 
third  member  of  the  group 
which  commemorated  the 
victory  over  the  Gauls.  The 
position  of  the  two  god- 
desses would  indicate  that 
they  were  represented  as 
hastening  from  opposite  di- 
rections toward  the  Apollo 
Belvedere,  the  central  figure 
of  the  whole.  The  whole  bearing  of  this  statue  carries  out 
the  impression  which  Homer  gives  of  the  delight  with 
which  Athena  led  the  Greeks  to  battle  ;  she  is  full  of  eager- 
ness, and  rushes  forward  with  the  undaunted  vigor  of  the 
confidence  and  courage  of  one  who  goes  to  fight  for  a  just 
and  holy  cause  (Fig.  65). 

Whether  this  **  Gallic  theory,"  as  it  is  called,  concern- 
ing the  Apollo,  Diana,  and  Athena  be  correct  or  no,  it  is 
the  most  satisfactory  in  sentiment  of  any  that  has  been  ad- 
vanced, and  certainly,  when  we  consider  the  three  statues 
in  this  connection,  there  is  nothing  inharmonious   in   the 


Fig.  65. — Athena  of  the  Capitol. 


RELIEFS   UPON   ARCHES. 


97 


supposition  that  they  made  the  important  parts  of  a  whole 
which  may  have  had  many  other  figures  of  lesser  impor- 
tance in  it. 

There  are  many  other  statues  of  the  Roman  period  in 
various  museums,  but  I  shall  leave  this  part  of  our  subject 
here,  and  speak  briefly  of  the  historical  sculpture  in  the 
reliefs  upon  the  triumphal  arches  of  the  Eternal  City.  In 
an  age  when  martial  glory  was  the  chief  desire  of  man,  and 
among  a  people  who  accorded  to  successful  generals  the 
highest  honors,  it  was  most  natural  that  the  conquerors 
should  desire  to  place  some  monument  of  their  exploits 
where  it  would  be  constantly  before  the  eyes  of  the  people, 
and  thus  keep  in  perpetual  remembrance  their  valiant  deeds 
and  their  great  successes. 

We  read  that  pictures  of  the  foreign  scenes  of  sieges  and 
battles  were  displayed  in  public  places  in  Rome  at  a  very 
early  date.     We  cannot  find  records  of  plastic  works  of  this 


Fig.  66. — Triumphal  Procession  from  Arch  of  Titus. 


sort  before  the  time  of  the  emperors,  but  after  such  sculp- 
tures came  into  favor  they  were  multiplied  rapidly.  The 
principal  historical  reliefs  in  Rome  were  upon  the  arches  of 


9« 


SCULPTURE. 


Claudius,  Titus,  Trajan,  Marcus  Aurelius,  and  Septimius 
Severus,  and  on  the  architrave  of  the  temple  of  Minerva  in 
the  Forum. 

Of  the  arch  of  Claudius  there  are  some  remaining  frag- 
ments of  sculpture,  now  in  the  Villa  Borghese.  The  arch 
of  Titus  was  erected  to  celebrate  the  taking  of  Jerusalem  in 
A.D.  70.  It  was  restored  in  1822.  The  frieze  represents 
both  a  triumphal  procession  and  one  of  sacrifice.  The  pict- 
ure we  give  here  shows  a  company  of  warriors  in  the  dress- 
of  peace,  who  bear  articles  of  booty  taken  from  the  con- 
quered city.  They  have  the  candelabra  with  seven  branches, 
the  table  of  the  shew-bread,  the  silver  trumpets,  etc.  This- 
will  give  you  a  good  idea  of  these  reliefs.     (Fig.  66.) 

The  arch  of  Trajan  no  longer  stands,  and  its  reliefs  are- 

now  on  the  arch  of  Constantine  ;  but  Trajan's  Pillar  is  one- 

of  the   best   preserved   of   all  the    antique    monuments   of 

Rome,  and  with  some  account  of  this  column  and  a  picture- 

from    it   we   will   leave   the   historical  sculptures  of  Rome. 

The  Senate  and  people  of  Rome  decreed  that  this  column; 

should  be  erected  to  the  memory  of  Trajan,  and  it  was  in 

the  centre  of  the  Forum   which  bore  the  same  name— the 

Forum  Trajani.     The  column  is  about  one  hundred  and  six 

feet  high,  and  originally  was  surmounted  by  a  bronze  statue 

of  Trajan,  which  was  replaced  by  one  of  St.  Peter  by  Pope 

Sixtus  V.     A  band   of  rehefs  runs  around  this  pillar  in  a. 

spiral  form  ;  this  band  is  six  hundred   feet  long,  and  the 

sculptures  represent  Trajan's  campaign  against  the  Dacians. 

Many  of  the  figures  lose  their  effect  on  account  of  the  height 

at  which  they  are  placed.     There  are  more  than  a  hundred 

scenes    upon    it,  in    which   are   about  twenty-five   hundred 

human    figures,   besides  many    horses   and    other   objects. 

The  whole  is  executed  with  the  greatest  care. 

The  real  object  of  the  whole  work  was  to  glorify  the 
Emperor  Trajan,  and  he  is  represented  in  many  of  the 
scenes  ;  sometimes  he  is  conducting  engagements,  storming 


TRAJAN'S   COLUMN. 


99 


a  fort,  or  encouraging  his  troops  ;  again  he  is  holding  an 
audience,  protecting  the  women  of  a  conquered  city,  or  sit- 
ting in  judgment  on  captives. 
Fig.  6'j  represents   the    Da- 

•cians  assaulting  a  Roman 
fort.  It  is  winter,  and  while 
some  have  crossed  the  ice  in 
safety,  others  have  broken 
through.  Everything  about 
it  is  represented  in  the  most 
life-like  and  matter-of-fact 
manner,  and  this  shows  dis- 
tinctly the  principal  differ- 
ence between  the  Greek  and 

■  the  Roman  art  when  the  lat- 
ter was  not  influenced  by  the 
former.  It  is  pure,  realistic, 
historical  sculpture,  and  this 
pillar  shows  this  at  its  very 
best  estate  ;  it  is  a  splendid 
specimen  of  this  kind  of  art. 
In  all  these  many  scenes 
there  are  but  two  mytholog- 
ical figures  :  one  is  Selene, 
used  to  represent  Night,  and 
the  other  is  Jupiter  tonans, 
who  indicates  Storm.  But 
the  correctness  and  elegance 
•of  the  sculptures  show  what 
the  Greek  teaching  did  for 
the  Romans  ;  for  it  was  to 
the  Greeks  that  the  latter 
owed  their  knowledge  of  the 
human  form  and  their  power  to  render  it  properly  in 
sculpture. 


I? 

P 

On 


O 

H 

M 

w 
r| 

w 

O 
*^ 

H 

> 

> 
"2, 


o 

o 
2; 


lOO  SCULPTURE. 

The  last  sort  of  ancient  sculpture  of  which  I  shall  speak 
is  portrait  sculpture,  and  perhaps  this  belongs  also  to  histor- 
ical sculpture,  for  it  is  by  means  of  statues  and  busts  that 
we  know  the  faces  and  forms  of  many  of  the  great  men  and 
women  who  hold  their  places  in  the  regard  of  the  world 
through  all  the  centuries,  because  they  were  concerned  in 
the  events  which  make  up  what  we  call  the  history  of  the 
world.  We  have  said  that  in  Greece  in  very  early  times 
there  were  no  portrait  sculptures  ;  gradually  they  were  in- 
troduced until,  in  the  time  of  Alexander,  portrait  statues 
were  almost  numberless,  and  these  and  busts  were  used  for 
the  decoration  of  libraries  and  public  buildings,  as  well  as 
for  the  adornment  of  squares  and  places  of  resort  in  the 
open  air. 

The  finest  life-size  statue  which  remains  from  the  Greeks 
is  that  of  Sophocles,  of  which  we  give  a  picture  (Fig.  68). 
It  was  not  found  until  about  1839,  ^^id  was  presented  to  Pope 
Gregory  XVI.  by  Cardinal  Antonelli  ;  it  is  in  the  museum 
*^'''of  the  Lateran.  This  engraving  from  it  shows  its  beauties  so 
'^well  that  it  is  scarcely  needful  to  speak  of  it  in  detail.  This 
statue  is  valuable  not  only  as  a  portrait  of  Sophocles,  but 
as  a  representation  of  a  true  product  of  the  highest  and  best 
of  Athenian  civilization  and  culture  ;  of  an  elegant,  aristo- 
cratic man  who  was  trained  in  gymnastic  and  warlike  exer- 
cises which  developed  his  physical  parts,  as  well  as  in 
science,  philosophy,  and  music— in  various  deep  studies 
and  lighter  accomplishments  which  rendered  him  profound 
and  scholarly,  and  at  the  same  time  elegant  and  graceful. 
*'  The  attitude,  though  simple,  is  well  chosen  to  show  the 
most  graceful  lines  of  the  figure  ;  and  the  position  of  the 
arms— the  one  gracefully  enveloped  in  the  himation,  and 
the  other  firmly  planted  on  the  hip— gives  to  the  whole 
form  an  air  of  mingled  ease  and  dignity.  The  face  is  hand- 
some and  full  of  winning  grace,  and  bears  the  stamp  not 
only  of  the  creative  genius  of  the  poet,  but  of  the  experi- 


PORTRAIT   SCULPTURE. 


lOI 


ence  of  the  active  citi- 
zen ;  of  one  who  has 
felt  both  the  joys  and 
the  sufferings  of  human 
lot,  and  preserved  amid 
them  the  constitutional 
calmness,  the  gentle 
benevolence,  the  tran- 
quil, meditative  piety 
for  which  he  was  re- 
nowned and  loved  by 
the  people  among  whom 
he  lived  and  sang." 

Among  the  Romans 
portrait  sculpture  held 
a  position  of  impor- 
tance. This  people  had 
always  placed  great 
value  upon  the  like- 
nesses of  the  dead,  and 
from  the  earliest  times 
had  used  different 
means  of  making  them. 
In  the  very  early  days 
of  the  nation  the  cus- 
tom prevailed  of  mak- 
ing masks  of  the  faces 
of  the  dead  in  wax,  and 
these  masks  were  worn 
in  the  funeral  proces- 
sion by  one  of  the 
mourners,  who  also 
wore  the  dress  and  in- 
signia of  the  departed. 
The   first   aim   in  these 


Fig,  68. — Portrait  Statue  of 
Sophocles. 


I02 


SCULPTURE. 


masks  was  to  have  an  exact  resemblance  to  the  dead  ;  and 
this  idea  was  carried  on  through  all  the  eras  of  Roman  art, 
and  is  a  strong  distinguishing  feature  between  Greek  and 

Roman  sculpture  ;  for 
while  the  Greeks  wish- 
ed to  reproduce  the 
face  of  one  of  whom 
they  made  a  bust  or 
statue,  they  did  not 
hesitate  to  idealize 
that  face ;  but  the 
Romans  labored  to 
make  an  exact  likeness 
of  the  man,  leaving 
him  in  his  statue  as 
nothing  more  than  he 
looked  to  be.  This 
manner  of  portraiture 
often  does  great  injus- 
tice to  its  model,  for 
the  changing  expres- 
sions which  come  with 
emotions  and  with 
conversation  often  il- 
luminate the  plainest 
faces  with  a  rare  beau- 
ty ;  therefore  the  aim 
of  portraiture  should  be  to  give  the  very  most  and  best  that 
can  be  imagined  as  coming  to  the  face  which  is  reproduced. 
I  can  speak  of  but  a  few  of  the  almost  numberless  Roman 
portrait  sculptures. 

This  statue  of  Augustus  was  found  in  1863  in  a  villa 
built  by  his  wife,  Livia,  about  nine  miles  from  Rome,  at 
Porta  Prima.  It  is  a  noble  work,  and  every  minute  detail 
of  the  ornamentation  has  a  force  and  meaning  that  can  be 


Fig.  69. — Statue  of  Augustus. 


PORTRAIT   SCULPTURE. 


103 


explained.  At  the  same  time  the  whole  work  is  full  of 
strength  and  dignity,  which  comes  from  the  character  of  the 
man  himself,  and  is  in  no  sense  dependent  on  all  the  emblems 
of  his  rank  and  power,  with  which  the  dress  is  loaded  (Fig.  69). 
This  statue  is  in  the  Vatican,  and  there  one  can  compare  it 
with  the  exquisite  bust  known  as  the  "Young  Augustus" 
and  with  the  statue  of  the  emperor  when  aged,  in  which  he 
is  veiled  as  a  priest.  The  study  of  these  three  sculptures, 
thus  fortunately  near  each  other,  is  most  interesting. 

The  Roman  women  who  held  important  positions  were 
frequently  honored  with  statues.  Among  those  that  remain 
none  is  more  interesting  than  this  of  the  elder  Agrippina. 
She  was  a  woman  of  great  strength  and  equally  great  purity 
of  character,  and  as  we  study  this  statue  we  can  easily  un- 
derstand that  she  could  perform  the  duties  of  a  general 
when  occasion  demanded  this  service,  and  when  that  neces- 


FiG.  70. — Agrippina  the  Elder. 

sity  was  past  could  nurse  the  sick  and  wounded  with  all  the 
tenderness  of  a  true  w^omanly  nature.  It  is  in  every  way  a 
noble  work  of  art,  combining  grace,  dignity,  and  the  aristo- 


I04  SCULPTURE. 

cratic  refinement  of  a  high-born  Lady.  The  drapery  of  this 
and  other  similar  statues  is  very  beautiful,  and  fully  satisfies 
all  artistic  demands.  We  have  full  proof  that  such  gar- 
ments were  in  actual  use  by  the  women  of  Greece  and 
Rome  (Fig.  70). 

It  was  not  unusual  for  the  great  men  and  women  of 
Rome  to  be  represented  in  portrait  statues  with  the  attri- 
butes of  gods  and  goddesses.  Livia  appears  as  Ceres,  Julia 
as  Flora,  and  so  on  ;  and  during  the  best  days  of  Roman, 
art  these  statues  were  very  beautiful.  But  at  last  they,  like 
all  other  sculptures,  grew  less  and  less  worthy,  until  they 
became  positively  absurd,  and  lacked  any  power  to  com- 
mand our  admiration. 

What  is  thus  true  of  portrait  sculpture  is  true  of  all 
Roman  art.  Its  decline  kept  step  with  the  decHne  of  the 
nation,  and  both  fell  at  length  into  a  pitiable  state  of  fee- 
bleness and  corruption.  From  this  we  are  glad  to  turn  ta 
the  study  of  Christian  art,  which,  even  in  its  primary  strug- 
gles, when  groping  its  way  through  ignorance  and  helpless- 
ness, was  still  a  living  thing,  and  held  the  promise  of  a  new 
life — a  renaissance  of  that  which  had  gradually  died  in 
Greece  and  Rome. 


CHAPTER   IV. 


MEDIEVAL     SCULPTURE,     FROM     THE     FIFTH     TO     THE 
FIFTEENTH    CENTURY. 

THE  ancient  or  classic  Italian  sculpture  of  which  we 
have  spoken  may  be  said  to  have  extended  to  about 
the  middle  of  the  fourth  century  of  the  Christian  era.  The 
arch  of  Constantine  was  one  of  its  latest  works,  and  is  mter- 
esting  as  an  example  of  the  decline  of  art.  The  sculptures 
upon  it,  which  were  taken  from  the  arch  of  Trajan,  executed 
two  centuries  earlier,  are  so  superior  to  those  that  were 
added  in  the  time  of  Constantine,  that  nothing  could  give 
one  a  clearer  idea  of  the  decadence  of  sculpture  than  seemg 
the  works  of  two  periods  thus  placed  side  by  side. 

After  the  time  of  Constantine,  when  the  Christians  were 
no  longer  forced  to  hide  their  art  in  the  catacombs,  they 
began  to  have  a  sculpture  of  their  own.  The  first  Chris- 
tians in  Rome  were  brought  into  contact  with  the  worship 
of  Isis  and  Pan,  Venus  and  Apollo,  and  were  filled  with 
horror  at  the  sight  of  the  statues  of  these  divmities.  Ihey 
believed  that  any  representation  of  the  human  form  was  for- 
bidden by  the  commandment  which  says,  "  Thou  shalt  not 
make  to  thyself  any  graven  image,nor  the  likeness  of  anything 
that  is  in  the  heaven  above,  or  in  the  earth  beneath,  or  in 
the  water  under  the  earth."     Thus  it  happened  that  when 


io6 


SCULPTURE. 


the  early  Christians  desired  to  represent  the  Saviour  they 
employed  painting,  such  as  is  found  in  the  catacombs, 
rather  than  sculpture,  and  separate  statues  are  the  rarest 
remains  of  early  Christian  art. 

The  oldest  Christian  statue  which  is  known  in  marble  is 
that  of  St.  Hippolytus,  which  is  in  the  Museum  of  the 
Lateran  Palace,  where  there  are  also  two  small  statues  of 
Christ  as  the  Good  Shepherd,  which  were  found  in  the 
catacombs. 


Fig.  71.— Statue  of  St.  Peter. 

The  most  important  statue  of  this  period  is  that  of 
St.  Peter,  which  is  held  in  great  reverence  by  Roman 
Catholics,  who  kiss  its  toe  as  they  enter  the  church  of 
St.  Peter's  at  Rome,  and  press  their  foreheads  against  the 


EARLY    CHRISTIAN   SCULPTURE.  lO/ 

extended  foot.  The  statue  is  of  bronze,  and  some  antiqua- 
rians believe  that  it  is  the  Jupiter  of  the  Capitol  changed  so 
as  to  answer  for  a  statue  of  St.  Peter  ;  others  say  that  it 
was  cast  from  the  metal  of  the  statue  of  Jupiter  ;  and  the 
usual  belief  is  that  it  was  made  by  the  order  of  Pope  Leo  I. 
about  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century  as  a  thank-offering  for 
the  deliverance  of  Rome  from  the  barbarian  Attila  by  the 
miraculous  protection  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul.  This 
statue  is  too  rude  to  belong  to  classic  art,  though  it  is  of 
remarkable    excellence    for   a   work   of    the    fifth    century 

(Fig-  70-  ,     ^,    .     . 

The  principal   use  of  sculpture  by  the  early  Christians 

was  for  the  decoration  of  the  sarcophagi,  or  burial-cases. 
These  were  cut  in  bas-reliefs  after  the  manner  of  the  an- 
cients, the  subjects  being  taken  from  the  life  of  Christ  ;  the 
ornaments  were  the  Christian  emblems,  such  as  the  lamb, 
cross,  vine,  palm,  dove,  and  the  monogram  of  Christ.  As 
time  passed  the  designs  were  more  and  more  elaborate  ; 
stories  from  the  Old  Testament  were  frequently  illustrated, 
and  numerous  figures  were  crowded  together,  with  many 
symbols  ingeniously  inserted  to  make  the  meaning  of  the 
whole  more  clear. 

The  largest  number  and  the  best  of  these  sarcophagi  are 
now  in  the  museums  of  the  Lateran  and  the  Vatican.  In 
the  centre  of  one  of  the  finest  of  these  is  a  shell,  in  which 
are  the  half  figures  of  the  two  who  were  buried  in  this  sar- 
cophagus. At  the  upper  left  hand  is  the  Saviour  before 
the  tomb  of  Lazarus  ;  one  of  the  sisters  of  the  dead  man 
kisses  the  hand  of  Jesus  ;  next  to  this  is  the  Denial  of 
Peter  ;  nearest  the  shell  Moses  reaches  up  to  receive  the 
Table  of  the  Law.  On  the  right  of  the  shell,  in  the  upper 
row,  is  the  Sacrifice  of  Isaac  and  the  Washing  of  Pilate's 
Hands.  On  the  lower  row,  beginning  at  the  left,  is  Moses 
causing  the  Water  to  flow  from  the  Rock  ;  next  is  the  Ap- 
prehension of  Peter,  and  next,  Daniel  in  the  Lions'  Den. 


I08  SCULPTURE. 

Besides  these  there  are  the  Healing  of  the  Blind  and  the 
Miracle  of  the  Loaves  and  Fishes.  This  will  show  how 
elaborate  the  carving  is  on  these  burial-cases,  and  how  the 
subjects  from  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  are  mingled 
without  order  or  apparent  reason.  These  sarcophagi  have 
been  found  in  various  parts  of  Italy  and  in  France,  and  are 
seen  in  many  museums. 

In  no  part  of  the  Roman  Empire  was  sculpture  as  favor- 
ably regarded  by  the  early  Christians  as  at  Byzantium. 
Several  attempts  to  adorn  the  city  with  statues  and  other 
works  of  art  were  made  there,  and  many  of  the  Greek 
sculptures  which  had  been  carried  to  Rome  were  again  borne 
off  to  decorate  this  new  Capitol.  The  Emperor  Constan- 
tine  there  erected  a  column  a  hundred  feet  high,  and  placed 
his  statue  on  it  ;  Theodosius  also  erected  a  column  and  an 
obelisk  ;  but  Justinian  excelled  all  these,  and  about  543  A.D. 
set  up  a  monument  with  a  colossal  equestrian  statue  of  him- 
self in  bronze  upon  it.  The  column  which  supported  this 
statue  was  of  brick  masonry  covered  with  plates  of  bronze. 
From  the  accounts  we  have  of  it  we  conclude  that  this  was 
a  fine  work  for  its  time  ;  it  was  called  the  Augustio,  and 
was  placed  on  the  Augusteurn  near  the  church  of  St.  So- 
phia ;  in  the  sixteenth  century  it  had  been  overthrown  and 
broken  in  pieces,  and  the  metal  was  then  melted  down. 
The  artist  who  executed  the  Augustio  was  Eustathius  of 
Rome,  who  was  sent  to  Byzantium  for  this  purpose. 

But  the  Byzantine  Christians  soon  grew  into  a  fixed  dis- 
approval of  statues,  and  favored  only  the  lesser  works  of  art. 
Ivory-carving,  which  long  before  had  been  brought  from  the 
East  by  the  Greeks,  now  came  into  special  favor,  and  the 
Byzantine  artists  devoted  all  their  talent  to  making  beauti- 
ful works  of  this  sort.  The  most  important  of  these  carv- 
ings which  remains  is  in  the  cathedral  of  Ravenna.  It  is 
the  episcopal  chair  or  cathedra  of  Maximianus,  and  was 
made  between  546  and  552  (Fig.  72). 


EARLY    CHRISTIAN    SCULPTURE. 


109 


This    chair    is    composed    entirely   of    carved    plates   of 
ivory  ;  scenes  from  the  life  of  Joseph  and  other  similar  de- 
signs are  represented,  and  these  are  surrounded  by  a  great 
variety    of    small    figures,    which 
form  a  sort  of  framework  around 
the  principal  parts  ;  for  example, 
animals    and    birds    among   vine- 
branches,   and   all   arranged   in  a 
life-like  and  artistic  manner.     So 
large  a  work  as  this  chair  in  ivory 
is  unusual.     The  greater  number 
of  ivory  carvings  are  upon  small 
objects,     such     as     drinking-cups 
and    other    vessels,     book-covers 
and  diptychs,  or  tablets  for  writ- 
ing,  of  which  fine  specimens  re- 
main  and  are  seen  in  art  collec- 
tions. 

Diptychs  were  carved  ivory 
tablets,  with  the  inner  surface 
waxed  for  writing,  and  were  used 
by  the  early  Christians,  as  they 
had  been  by  the  ancients.  The 
illustration  given  here  is  from  the 
diptych  of  the  Consul  Areobru- 
dus,  and   belongs  to  the  year  506 

(Fig.  73).  The  whole  design  upon  it  represents  a  contest 
with  lions  and  bears;  the  scene  is  where— the  circus  gates 
being  thrown  open — the  animals  rush  into  the  arena  to  be 
slain  by  the  gladiators.  Some  diptychs  are  ornamented 
with  subjects  from  the  life  of  Christ  and  other  religious 
themes. 

About  the  beginning  of  the  tenth  century  ivory-carving 
was  much  used  for  church  purposes.  The  smaller  altars 
were  covered  with  it,  the  vessels  used  for  the  Holy  Sacra- 


FiG.  72. — From  the  Cathe- 
dra OF  Maximianus, 


no 


SCULPTURE. 


ment  were  made  of  it,  magnificent  covers  for  church  books 
were  carved,  and  as  much  thought  seems  to  have  been  given 
to  the  designs  upon  these  small  objects  as  had  formerly- 
been  devoted  to  the  splendid  temples  of  the  ancients. 
Ivory-carving  extended  from  Byzantium  into  Germany  and 


Fig.  73. — Diptych.     Zurich. 


Other  Western  countries,  and  along  with  it  went  the  work- 
ing in  rich  and  precious  metals,  which  had  also  been  prac- 
tised somewhat  by  the  earlier  Christians. 

During  the  tenth  century  the  metal  works  were  very 
costly,  and  the  different  cathedrals  and  churches  rivalled 
each  other  in  possessions  of  this  sort.     Altar  tables  were 


MEDL^VAL   SCULPTURE.  ill 

covered  with  embossed  metal  plates,  which  were  extended 
down  from  the  top  of  the  table  to  the  floor,  forming  ante- 
pendiums,  as  they  are  called,  in  the  same  way  that  those  of 
cloth  are  now  used.  These  plates  of  metal  were  worked 
into  designs  in  relief,  ornamented  with  delicate  filigree 
work,  with  paintings  in  enamel,  and  even  with  rare  antique 
cameos  and  exquisite  gems.  Crucifixes  were  also  made  of 
metals  and  richly  adorned,  as  well  as  all  the  vessels  and 
smaller  articles  used  in  the  service  and  ceremonials  of  the 
church — incense-burners,  candlesticks,  tabernacles  and  reli- 
quaries, or  caskets  for  preserving  relics.  In  the  sacristies  of 
many  old  churches  and  in  art  collections  these  rare,  costly 
articles  are  still  preserved,  and  are  of  great  interest  in  the 
study  of  art. 

Many  of  the  designs  used  on  these  objects  were  quaint 
and  even  grotesque,  while  the  drawing  of  the  figures  and 
the  arrangement  of  the  subjects  is  often  done  in  the  crudest 
and  most  inartistic  manner.  Vessels  for  church  use  were 
made  in  the  shapes  of  griffins,  dragons,  cranes,  lions,  and 
other  curious  birds  and  beasts,  while  the  human  faces  repre- 
sented sometimes  had  enamelled  or  jewelled  eye-balls.  In 
one  case  the  eyes  of  the  Saviour  were  made  of  large  car- 
buncles ;  you  can  understand  that  this  would  give  an  ex- 
pression quite  the  opposite  of  that  gentleness  and  peace 
which  we  look  for  in  the  face  of  the  Redeemer.  In  truth, 
there  is  so  much  of  the  grotesque  and  even  barbarous  ele- 
ment in  many  of  these  works,  that  we  car.  but  ridicule  while 
we  recognize  the  industry  and  care  which  was  expended 
upon  them.  It  is  also  difficult  to  understand  how  the  feel- 
ing for  art  and  the  practice  of  it  which  had  attained  to  such 
perfection  among  the  ancients  could  have  died  out  of  the 
world  so  completely,  for  in  these  mediaeval  days  it  existed 
nowhere  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 

About  the   beginning  of   the   eleventh   century   bronze 
casting  came  to  hold  an  important  place  in  the  art  of  Ger- 


112  SCULPTURE. 

many,  and  as  architecture  now  received  more  attention,  and 
bronze  gates,  and  occasionally  bronze  figures  of  bishops 
and  other  church  dignitaries,  were  used  for  the  decoration  of 
church  buildings,  we  may  say  that  bronze  works  made  the 
medium  through  which  sculpture  in  connection  with  archi- 
tecture was  again  brought  into  use.  At  Hildesheim  there 
is  still  a  bronze  gate  at  the  principal  entrance  to  the  cathe- 
dral, which  was  cast  in  1015,  and  in  various  places  in  Ger- 
many, France,  and  Northern  Italy  works  of  this  kind  are 
seen  which  belong  to  the  eleventh  century,  while  a  bit  of 
stone  or  wood  sculpture  of  this  period  is  very  rarely  met. 

The  twelfth  century  brought  about  a  great  change  in 
sculpture  and  its  uses.  This  century  was  a  period  of  re- 
markable activity  in  every  department  of  human  life.  The 
Crusades  were  then  preached,  and  armies  of  zealous  Chris- 
tians went  forth  to  redeem  Jerusalem  from  the  power  of  the 
Pagans  ;  in  this  century  all  the  institutions  of  chivalry 
flourished  ;  the  nations  of  the  world  had  more  intercourse 
with  each  other  than  had  before  existed  ;  commerce  was 
extended  into  new  channels  ;  men  were  more  individual 
and  thought  more  independently  for  themselves  than  they 
had  done  hitherto  ;  and,  in  short,  human  intellect  all  over 
the  Western  world  seemed  to  be  awakening  from  a  long, 
deep  sleep,  and  to  be  inspired   with  strength  and  activity. 

With  all  the  other  changes  there  came  revivals  of  archi- 
tecture and  sculpture,  which  went  hand  in  hand,  and  in  the 
beginning  can  scarcely  be  separated  from  each  other.  The 
early  Christians  had  been  content  with  the  decoration  of 
interiors  ;  now  the  exteriors  received  much  attention,  and 
the  portals  or  entrances  to  the  churches  were  richly  deco- 
rated with  statues  and  other  sculptured  ornaments,  and  the 
exterior  decoration  soon  extended  to  many  portions  of  the 
edifices.  In  the  interiors,  too,  the  altars,  fonts,  choir- 
screens,  and  other  objects  were  made  of  carved  stone  or  of 
stucco,  which  hardened  like  stone,  and  were  all  richly  orna- 


THE    ROMANESQUE    PERIOD. 


1^3 


mented  with  sculpture.  A  completely  new  spirit  seemed  to 
possess  the  artists,  who  thus  found  a  satisfactory  field  for 
their  labors,  and  the  period  known  as  the  Romanesque  was 
thus  ushered  in. 

We  cannot  claim  that  the  works  of  the  twelfth  century 
were  free  from  the  faults  of  the  preceding  eras,  or  were  satis- 
factory to  our  artistic  sense  ;  but  we  may  say  that  they  show 


Fig.  74. — From  the  FA9ADE  of  Chartres  Cathedral. 

the  effect  of  the  new  life  which  had  come  into  the  world, 
and  give  unerring  promise  of  the  progress  which  followed. 
The  same  improvement  is  seen  in  bronze-casting  as  in 
sculpture  ;  and  though  to  our  eyes  it  still  remains  crude  and 
ungraceful,  yet  by  comparing  it  with  the  work  of  the  previ- 
ous century  we  mark  a  hopeful  and  important  change. 

Germany,  in  its  different  provinces,  took  the  lead  in  this 
artistic  progress  ;   but  France  was  not  far  behind  ;  and,  in- 


114  SCULPTURE. 

deed,  in  the  cathedral  of  Chartres  the  fiist  promise  was 
given  of  the  splendid  church  portals  of  the  early  Gothic 
style  of  architecture  which  followed  the  Romanesque.  In 
this  cathedral,  too,  we  see  for  the  first  time  an  attempt  to 
make  the  head  and  face  a  reproduction  of  nature  rather 
than  a  repetition  of  the  classic  head,  which  had  come  to  be 
so  imperfectly  copied  that  it  had  degenerated  into  a  carica- 
ture.    (Fig.  74.) 

Other  cathedrals  at  St.  Denis,  Le  Mans,  Bourges,  and 
Paris  are  splendid  examples  of  the  art  of  this  time  ;  and 
when  we  remember  how  Italy  took  the  lead  of  these  north- 
ern countries  in  later  days,  it  seems  strange  that  at  this  era 
she  was  far  behind  them.  It  is  even  true  that  the  first 
works  in  Northern  Italy  which  indicated  that  the  awaken- 
ing w^hich  had  come  north  of  the  Alps  had  reached  that 
country  were  executed  wholly  or  in  part  by  German  artists  ; 
but  by  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century  both  the  sculpture 
and  bronze-casting  of  Italy  gav^e  promise  of  the  great  revival 
of  true  art  which  was  to  come  in  that  home  of  the  arts. 

However,  it  is  not  possible  to  connect  the  art  of  Italy 
with  that  of  any  other  country  in  any  comprehensive  sense. 
Italian  art  may  be  said  to  have  died  out  more  completely  in 
the  beginning  of  the  middle  ages  than  did  the  art  of  north- 
ern nations  ;  its  period  of  decline,  too,  was  longer  ;  but 
when  its  awakening  came  it  aroused  itself  and  took  on  new 
strength  by  a  method  of  its  own,  and  may  be  said  to  have 
been  distinct  from  northern  art  in  every  respect,  and 
divided  from  it  by  its  different  spirit  as  clearly  as  Italy  was 
divided  from  other  lands  by  the  towering  summits  of  the 
Alps. 

About  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century  there 
dawned  upon  the  northern  nations  a  new  era  in  literature. 
Hitherto  the  written  language  had  been  the  monkish  Latin  ; 
now  the  poets  began  to  use  their  own  tongues.  This  new 
writing  may  be  said  to  have  commenced  with  the  Provengal 


THE   THIRTEENTH   CENTURY.  1 15 

poets,  who  were  followed  by  those  of  Northern  France  ; 
but  it  was  in  Germany  that  such  song  broke  forth  as  showed 
how  the  national  feeling  had  been  repressed,  and  how,  now 
that  it  had  burst  its  bonds,  it  resembled  the  freshets  of 
spring  when  they  escape  from  the  icy  hand  of  Winter  and 
rush  from  one  point  to  another,  brushing  aside  every  obsta- 
cle which  lies  in  their  way.  I  cannot  here  speak  in  detail 
of  these  poets  and  their  works,  but  Hartmann  of  Aue, 
Walther  von  der  Vogelweid,  Wolfram  and  Gottfried  of 
Strasburg   are   names   which    grow   brighter   with   passing 

centuries. 

At  the  same  time  with  this  advance  in  letters  there 
came,  in  North-eastern  France,  the  new  Gothic  style  of 
architecture,  which  had  the  effect  to  revive  sculpture  and  in 
a  degree  restore  to  it  the  importance  it  had  in  classic  days. 
Now,  the  same  artist  was  both  architect  and  sculptor,  and 
the  result  was  that  architecture  was  so  arranged  as  to  afford 
an  honorable  place  to  sculpture,  which,  in  its  turn,  added 
much  to  the  grand  and  full  effect  of  architecture. 

Artists  now  began  to  study  nature  and  the  life  about 
them  in  preference  to  the  antique,  and  the  sculptors  of  the 
thirteenth  century  were  fortunate  in  living  in  a  time  when 
costumes  were  picturesque  and  suited  to  artistic  representa- 
tions. The  dress  of  a  knight  was  as  graceful  as  one  could 
wish,  with  its  flowing  lines  and  the  mantle  clasped  at  one 
side  of  the  neck,  or  thrown  loosely  over  the  arm  and  shoul- 
der ;  and  the  costume  of  the  other  sex,  with  the  full  folds  of 
the  lower  garment  fastened  by  the  girdle,  and  veiling  with- 
out hiding  the  movement  of  the  figure,  was  scarcely  less 
fitting  for  the  artist's  use  than  were  the  classic  robes  of  the 
Greeks. 

The  effect  of  the  sculpture  of  this  period  was  frequently 
heightened  by  the  use  of  color.  The  draperies  were  en- 
riched by  gold  ornaments,  and  painted  in  rich  blue  and  red, 
while   the  flesh  parts  were  delicately  tinted.     Colors  were 


I  l6  SCULPTURE. 

used  with  care,  and  often  served  to  conceal  the  defects  in 
the  sculpture  itself,  and  were  thus  of  great  advantage. 
Color  was  most  frequently  used  in  interior  decoration,  but 
it  was  not  unknown  upon  exterior  portals,  and  porches  were 
introduced  to  protect  this  polychromy,  as  the  painting  of 
sculpture  was  called. 

The  subjects  now  represented  in  sculpture  were  far  more 
numerous  than  formerly.  While  the  life  of  Christ  and  the 
Virgin  still  made  the  central  and  most  important  topic, 
there  were  added  scenes  from  the  lives  of  the  saints,  those 
who  were  regarded  as  the  patrons  of  the  city  or  those  to 
whom  the  edifice  was  dedicated  being  most  frequently 
chosen.  New  symbolic  designs  were  made  showing  the 
flight  of  time  by  seasons  and  months  ;  others  represented 
the  virtues,  and  even  the  customs  and  habits  of  the  people 
were  sometimes  introduced.  There  w^ere  also  humorous 
representations,  even  on  sacred  edifices.  Water-pipes  and 
gutter-spouts  were  ended  with  the  heads  of  monsters  and 
curious  animals,  and  even  with  grotesque  faces  ;  in  short, 
the  smaller  details  of  the  architecture  of  this  period  show 
the  vividness  of  the  imagination  of  the  time.  For  example, 
the  leaf-work  which  was  used  in  the  ornamental  portions  of 
sculpture  had  hitherto  copied  the  antique  acanthus  leaf  ; 
now  the  flowers  and  leaves  native  to  France  were  the  mod- 
els of  the  sculptors,  and  a  charming  variety  of  life-like  orna- 
ment was  the  result. 

The  church  of  Ste.  Chapelle,  at  Paris,  completed  about 
1248,  was  the  first  edifice  in  which  this  style  was  seen  in  its 
full  development.  Here,  for  the  first  time,  the  statues  were 
not  placed  in  the  stiff,  perpendicular  posture,  but,  by  being 
inclined  to  different  positions,  had  a  light  appearance  and  an 
air  of  movement,  which  was  a  great  relief  from  the  rigidity 
which  had  ruled  up  to  this  time. 

The  cathedral  at  Rheims,  however,  shows  the  perfection 
of  thirtcenfh-century  art.      It   is  conceded   to   be  the  best 


THE   THIRTEENTH   CENTURY.  11/ 

example  of  church  building  of  its  time,  and  its  fagade  the 
most  beautiful  structure  of  the  Middle  Ages.  Its  wealth  of 
sculpture  is  wonderful  ;  its  three  great  portals,  the  but- 
tresses, the  space  above  the  great  window  and  various  other 
portions  are  so  much  ornamented  that  the  whole  effect  is 
that  of  a  forest  of  sculpture,  and  it  is  difificult  to  turn  from 
it  to  consider  the  architecture  of  the  edifice.  It  naturally 
follows  that  in  this  vast  amount  of  artistic  work  there  is  no 
equality  of  excellence  ;  some  of  the  statues  are  like  those 
of  an  earlier  date  :  some  are  too  tall  and  awkward  ;  others 
too  short  and  rotund  ;  but  there  are  many  elegant  figures, 
full  of  grace  and  dignity,  with  the  drapery  falling  in  natural 
folds,  and  an  air  of  life  and  freedom  of  movement  about  the 
heads  quite  unknown  before  this  time. 

In  one  of  the  side  portals  of  this  cathedral  there  is  a 
figure  of  Christ  which  was  not  surpassed  by  any  work  of 
this  period.  The  study  of  every  portion  of  the  figure  is  so 
perfect  as  to  surprise  us  when  we  remember  that  anatomy 
was  not  then  studied  by  artists  as  it  had  been  in  classic 
times  or  as  it  has  been  in  more  recent  days.  This  statue 
holds  an  orb  in  the  left  hand,  and  the  right  hand  is  up- 
lifted ;  not  only  the  nails  of  the  fingers,  but  the  structure  of 
all  the  joints  is  skilfully  indicated. 

It  frequently  happens  that  the  reliefs  are  far  more  excel- 
lent than  the  statues  of  mediaeval  date.  This  is  so  notice- 
able that  it  would  seem  as  if  the  best  sculptors  preferred  to 
make  the  reliefs,  and  that  the  figures  were  left  to  those  of 
less  talent.  On  the  pediment  at  Rheims  the  Last  Judg- 
ment is  represented  in  five  divisions,  and  these  reliefs  are 
among  the  most  beautiful  sculptures  of  this  century.  The 
scene  of  the  Resurrection  of  the  Dead  is  arranged  in  two 
rows  of  figures  ;  a  section  of  it  is  here  given  (Fig.  75). 

There  are  twenty-nine  of  these  little  figures  in  the  whole 
subject,  and  the  variety  of  positions  and  the  naturalness  of 
the  various  expressions  are  all  that  could  be  desired  in  any 


ii8 


SCULPTURE. 


age  of  art.  The  forms  are  in  good  proportions,  and  the 
faces  are  filled  with  fear,  surprise,  hope,  and  supplication. 
A  volume  might  be  written  upon  the  sculptures  of  the 
Rheims  Cathedral  which  would  be  full  of  interest  to  the 
student  of  mediaeval  art. 


Fig.  75. — From  the  North  Transept  of  Rheims  Cathedral. 


Critics  have  compared  the  progress  and  life  which  per- 
vaded the  art  of  the  thirteenth  century  with  the  spirit  of 
the  age  of  Phidias.  The  two  periods  are  alike  in  the  fact 
that  the  artists  of  each  broke  away  from  the  traditions  of 
those  who  had  preceded  them,  and  took  up  their  work  with 
a  desire  to  come  nearer  to  nature.  They  were  alike,  too,  in 
the  union  of  architecture  and  sculpture,  and  in  the  fact  that 
all  kinds  of  sculpture  were  required  for  the  adornment  of  a 
single  structure.  Colossal  and  full-sized  statues,  statuettes, 
reliefs,  and  a  great  variety  of  simply  ornamental  designs 
were  lavished  upon  the  Christian  cathedral,  as  they  had 
been  upon  the  Greek  temple  ;  and  in  one  case  as  in  the 
other  the  various  groups  and  scenes  represented  were  in- 
tended to  show   forth  religious  mysteries,  and   to  illustrate 


MONUMENTAL   SCULPTURE.  I IQ 

the  working  of  the  supreme  power  which  controls  the  world 
in  relation  to  human  beings. 

But  I  must  leave  this  part  of  our  subject  and  speak  of 
the  monumental  sculpture  of  the  thirteenth  centur>\ 
While  many  of  the  tomb  statues  still  retained  a  general 
resemblance  to  those  of  the  past,  there  were  many  examples 
of  new  strength  and  progress.  In  a  church  near  Le  Mans 
the  statue  of  Berengaria,  the  wife  of  Richard  Coeur  de 
Lion,  who  died  in  12 19,  was  made  with  open  eyes  ;  this 
gives  a  very  life-like  appearance  to  the  face,  and  the  whole 
head  is  as  noble  as  that  of  an  antique  statue  ;  the  drapery 
is  full  and  free  ;  the  feet  rest  upon  a  dog,  which  is  the 
emblem  of  fideHty,  and  in  the  hands  is  a  casket.  There  is 
something  about  this  statue  which  appeals  to  us— a  human 
element  which  had  been  sadly  wanting  in  the  monumental 
statues  of  the  preceding  centuries. 

But  the  series  of  reliefs  which  were  made  for  the  Cathe- 
dral of  St.  Denis  were  the  most  important  tomb  sculptures 
of  this  period.  They  were  sixteen  in  number,  and  repre- 
sented princes  of  the  early  lines  of  French  sovereigns  down 
to  the  thirteenth  century.  Of  course  those  of  the  Mero- 
vingians and  Carlovingians  could  not  be  portrait  statues, 
and  the  heads  of  both  kings  and  queens  are  all  of  the  same 
type  until  those  of  Philip  the  Bold,  who  died  in  1285,  and 
his  wife,  Isabella  of  Aragon,  who  died  in  1271,  are  reached. 
These  two  are  intended  to  be  portraits,  and  they  show  the 
individual  characters  of  these  royal  personages.  In  all 
France  there  is  no  more  interesting  succession  of  monu- 
ments than  these. 

In  Germany  the  Romanesque  style  of  architecture  and 
the  sculpture  which  went  with  it  held  their  sway  much 
longer  than  in  France,  and  the  new  Gothic  style  made  its 
way  very  slowly  in  the  countries  north  of  France.  Slight 
traces  of  its  influence  in  one  way  and  another  maybe  found 
about  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century  ;  but  it  was  not 


I20 


SCULPTURE. 


until  the  very  end  of  this  period  that  the  Gothic  style  had 
affected  German  art,  except  in  the  south-western  portions 
of  the  country.  These  provinces  bordered  upon  France, 
and  formed  a  sort  of  middle  ground  between  the  two 
nations.  In  Strasburg,  at  the  end  of  the  century,  a  cathe- 
dral was  built  which  was  one  of  the  most  splendid  examples 
of  a  union  of  the  two  styles  that  could  be  produced.  The 
sculptures  show   the   effect   of  the   new  French  manner  in 


Ul^ 


Fig.  76. — From  the  West  Facade,  Strasburg  Cathedral, 

their  life  and  ease  of  grouping  and  attitude,  while  they  are 
still  crowded  and  over-decorated,  as  in  the  earlier  days,  and 
the  fixed  architectural  frame  of  the  German  style  is  pre- 
served throughout.     (Fig.  76.) 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  relief  of  the  Death  of 
the  Virgin,  at  Strasburg,  was  the  work  of  Sabina  von  Stein- 
bach,  a  daughter  of  the  architect  of  the  west  fagade  of  the 
cathedral.     The  grouping  is  fine,  and   the  transparent  dra- 


IN   ENGLAND. 


121 


pery,  which    reminds    us    of    the    same    effects    in  antique 
sculpture,  is  beautifully  executed. 

In  the  Cathedral  of  Freiburg,  the  nave  of  which  was 
completed  in  1270,  there  are  some  very  fine  sculptures, 
which  are  like  the  Rheims  works  in  spirit  and  execution  ; 
a  figure  of  the  Madonna  is  one  of  the  best  statues  of  the 
time  in  any  country.  There  is  much  to  admire  in  the 
whole  of  this  cathedral.  Here  and  there 
in  Germany  there  are  some  tomb-sculp- 
tures of  the  thirteenth  century,  which 
are  simple,  noble,  and  individual  ;  but 
the  progress  of  art  here  was  much  less 
rapid  than  in  France. 

Another  marked  event  in  the  art 
history  of  the  thirteenth  century  was 
the  introduction  of  sculpture  into  Eng- 
land. The  few  pieces  of  plastic  art 
which  existed  in  that  country  before 
this  date  were  not  sufficient  in  number 
or  excellence  to  merit  the  name  of  Eng- 
lish sculpture. 

The  first  important  step  was  made 
about  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century, 
when  Guillaume  de  Sens,  a  French 
architect,  was  employed  to  build  a  new 
choir  to  Canterbury  Cathedral.  Not 
long  after  this  the  Temple  Church  was 
erected  ;  then  Westminster  Abbey  fol- 
lowed, and  at  length,  under  Henry  HI. 
rapidly  advanced  in  his  kingdom.  This  king  summoned 
artists  and  skilled  workmen  from  different  countries,  and 
portrait-sculpture  received  especial  attention  in  the  Eng- 
land of  that  day.  By  comparing  English  tomb-sculpture 
with  that  of  other  countries,  it  is  seen  that  the  aim  of  the 
artists  was  to  make  the  statues  resemble  those  whose  mem- 


FiG.  77. — Duke  Rob- 
ERT  OF  Normandy. 

all  the  arts  were 


122  SCULPTURE. 

ories  they  honored,  far  more  than  other  nations  had  done. 
The  illustration  given  here,  with  its  air  of  life — almost  of 
motion — is  a  good  example  of  what  I  mean  (Fig.  jj). 

The  sculptures  upon  the  English  exteriors,  and,  indeed, 
upon  the  interiors  of  edifices,  were  far  less  lavish  than  on 
the  Continent  ;  but  in  Wells  Cathedral,  completed  before 
1250,  there  is  a  wealth  of  sculpture  for  an  English  church 
of  this  date,  and  from  this  time  forward  the  plastic  arts 
were  of  great  importance  in  Great  Britain. 

With  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century  there  were 
great  changes  in  the  religious  and  political  affairs  of  all 
Europe.  The  Pope  no  longer  held  the  supreme  authority 
that  had  belonged  to  his  office,  and  the  imperial  power  was 
also  much  shaken.  We  cannot  speak  of  these  subjects  in 
detail  here,  but  the  result  to  art  of  these  changes  was 
seen  in  a  development  of  individualism,  and  the  effects 
of  it  did  not  show  an  improvement  when  considered  as  a 
whole,  though  it  has  some  new  features  which  w^ere  attrac- 
tive. 

In  these  days  of  which  we  now  speak  the  word  citizen 
had  a  far  deeper  meaning  than  ever  before,  and  the  growth 
of  wealth  and  prosperity  in  the  citizen  classes  gave  a  new 
impulse  to  all  the  activities  of  life,  and  to  art  along  with 
others. 

This  new  life  and  spirit  gave  more  freedom  to  artists, 
and  they  attempted  new  effects,  so  that  a  far  greater 
variety  was  made  in  their  works.  The  statue  of  the  Ma- 
donna, for  example,  was  so  often  repeated  that  it  afforded 
an  opportunity  for  all  sorts  of  experiments,  by  which  the 
sculptors  tried  to  add  to  the  deep  feeling  and  the  devotion 
that  had  already  been  expressed  in  the  representations  of 
the  sweet  Mother  of  Christ.  But  just  here  they  failed  ;  the 
new  era  brought  more  realism,  more  likeness  to  nature, 
more  freedom  to  the  artist  to  put  something  of  himself  into 
his  work  ;  but  much  of  the  deep  thought  and  the  devout 


THE  FOURTEENTH  CENTURY.  123 

feeling  of  the  thirteenth  century  was  lost,  and  it  cannot  be 
said  that  art  was  elevated  in  its  tone. 

There  were  influences,  too,  in  the  new  state  of  society 
which  permitted  details  to  be  introduced  into  religious  sub- 
jects which  were  far  from  suitable  or  devotional  ;  sometimes 
they  were  even  comic  in  their  efl'ects.  For  example,  such 
scenes  as  allowed  the  representation  of  evil  spirits  or  devils 
were  made  to  serve  for  all  sorts  of  coarse,  grotesque,  and 
burlesque  side-play,  and  the  little  figures  which  represented 
these  powers  were  made  to  do  all  kinds  of  ridiculous  capers 
side  by  side  with  such  serious  subjects  as  the  Last  Judg- 
ment or  the  death  scenes  of  eminent  men.  This  makes  us 
feel,  when  we  study  the  fourteenth  century,  that  the  sculp- 
ture of  the  Middle  Ages  reached  its  highest  point  in  the 
thirteenth  century,  and  soon  after  began  to  decline. 

In  Germany  the  most  important  sculptures  of  this  period 
were  executed  at  Nuremberg.  The  Church  of  St.  Laurence, 
that  of  St.  Sebald,  the  Frauenkirche,  or  the  Church  of  Our 
Lady,  are  all  great  monuments  to  the  art  of  this  city  and 
the  calm  dignity  and  grace  which  marked  the  works  of  the 
Nuremberg  sculptors. 

At  the  close  of  the  century,  between  138$  and  1396, 
Master  Heinrich  den  Balier  erected  the  "  Beautiful  Foun- 
tain," which  is  still  the  pride  of  the  city  and  a  splendid 
monument  of  the  time.  In  Nuremberg  many  of  the  dwell- 
ing-houses were  decorated  with  sculptures,  and  it  is  now 
one  of  the  most  interesting  places  in  all  Germany  to  the 
student  of  ancient  art. 

We  have  not  the  space  to  speak  in  detail  of  the  sculp- 
ture of  the  time  ;  Augsburg,  Prague,  Stuttgart,  Bamberg, 
Wiirzburg,  Cologne,  and  many  other  German  towns  and 
cities  have  rich  treasures  of  its  work,  but  its  character  is 
everywhere  much  the  same,  and  great  activity,  with  a  tend- 
ency toward  decline,  are  its  prominent  features. 

In    Germany    in   this    century  ivory-carving    was  much 


124 


SCULPTURE. 


practised  and  used  for  a  great  variety  of  purposes.  In  these 
smaller  works  the  life  and  freshness,  the  grace  and  spirit  of 
the  manner  of  the  time  were  very  attractive  (Fig.  78). 


Fig,  78. — Ivory  Relief.      Hunting  Scene. 

In  France  the  fourteenth  century  was  much  less  produc- 
tive of  works  of  art  than  the  preceding  one  had  been.  The 
fact  that  so  much  had  been  done  in  the  thirteenth  century — 
so  many  new  churches  built  and  so  many  older  ones  remod- 
elled— is  one  reason  for  this  change.  In  this  direction  there 
was  very  little  left  to  be  done.  Then,  too,  the  country  was 
so  disturbed  by  wars  with  England  that  the  arts  of  peace 
suffered  neglect.  However,  there  was  still  much  to  be 
done  to  complete  the  grand  works  already  begun,  and  dur- 
ing the  early  part  of  this  century  a  great  deal  was  accom- 
plished  by  way   of   interior  decoration    in  edifices  not  yet 


IN    ENGLAND.  12$ 

completed,  and  in  the  making  of  monuments  in  memor>'  of 
persons  of  rank  and  importance.  Those  in  the  Cathedral 
of  St.  Denis  were  much  increased  in  number,  and  in  all 
parts  of  France  these  works  were  multiplied. 

During  this  century  many  artists  from  the  Netherlands 
were  employed  in  France  ;  and  in  the  city  of  Dijon,  which 
was  the  residence  of  the  dukes  of  Burgundy,  the  works  of 
Flemish  artists  were  very  numerous. 

Perhaps  the  most  skilful  of  these  masters  was  Claux 
Sluter,  who  was  the  favorite  of  Philip  the  Bold,  and  ex- 
ecuted the  splendid  monument  to  that  duke  which  is  now 
in  the  Museum  at  Dijon.  He  was  also  the  sculptor  of  the 
Moses  Fountain,  the  decorations  of  the  Carthusian  chapel, 
and  other  works  which  still  remain  to  show  how  fine  a 
sculptor  he  was.  Sluter  had  a  great  influence  upon  art, 
and,  in  fact,  may  be  said  to  have  established  a  school  the 
effects  of  wliich  endured  long  after  his  time. 

In  England  sculpture  made  no  progress  during  the  four- 
teenth century.      Large  architectural  sculptures  were  neither 
numerous  nor  fine.      Tomb-sculptures  and  monuments  with 
portrait  reliefs  and  statues  were  the  principal  plastic  works 
of  the  time.      The  habit  of  erecting  monuments  to  the  dead 
now  extended  to  all  classes,  whereas  it  had  formerly  been 
confined  ,to   noble   and   distinguished   people.     The  result 
was  that  the  monuments  of  the  higher  classes  were  more 
and  more  splendid  in  order  to  mark  the  differences  of  rank, 
and  much  grand  effect  was  thus  produced  ;  but  the  merits 
of  the  sculpture  was  less  than  formerly,  and  the  monuments 
of  this  age  are  wanting  in  spirit,  stiff  and  unattractive.      The 
costume  of    the  time,   too,   was  so  ugly  that  it  served  to 
give  a  grotesque  air  to  many  figures,  and  thus  added  to  the 
general  appearance  of  decline  which   marked   the    English 
tomb-sculpture  of  the  fourteenth  century.      It  compares  un- 
favorably with  the  German  monuments  of  the  same  period, 
and  the   realistic  portrait  element  which  ruled   it  makes  it 


126  SCULPTURE. 

seem   like   a  monotonous  and   feeble  system  of  mechanics 
rather  than  a  style  of  art. 

As  we  have  said,  the  sculpture  of  Italy  was  quite  differ- 
ent from  that  of  the  more  northern  countries  of  Europe. 
One  great  reason  for  this  was  that  individualism  in  art  was 
a  strong  power  in  Italy  much  earlier  than  in  more  northern 
countries.  In  Germany  the  early  sculptors  of  the  Middle 
Ages  did  not  put  their  names  upon  their  works  ;  they  prac- 
tised their  art  as  a  religious  service,  and  their  pious  devo- 
tion made  them  forget  themselves.  Not  so  in  Italy  :  there 
each  artist  wished  to  be  known  in  his  works,  and  regarded 
them  as  works  of  art,  done  for  the  sake  of  art,  and  not  as 
acts  of  piety.  One  result  of  this  difference  was  that  the 
northern  sculptures  had  more  of  deep  feeling  and  profound 
thought  in  them,  while  the  Italian  works  had  more  perfec- 
tion of  form. 

In  Italy  sculpture  held  the  second  place  in  the  decora- 
tion of  churches.  Painting  was  preferred  before  it,  and  in 
spite  of  the  influence  of  the  Gothic  style,  which  extended 
south  of  the  Alps,  the  Italians  would  not  give  up  their 
large  wall-spaces  and  the  splendid  Christian  paintings  which 
were  their  glory.  They  built  their  edifices  with  this  end  in 
view,  and  as  the  same  person  was  frequently  an  architect, 
painter  and  sculptor,  he  knew  how  to  arrange  his  plans  so 
as  to  suit  his  ideas  of  the  merits  of  each  art. 

So  it  happened  that  the  principal  works  which  the 
sculptors  did  for  the  church  were  separate  objects,  such  as 
altar-pieces,  fonts,  pulpits,  and  tombs.  It  rarely  occurred 
that  whole  fronts  of  churches  were  covered  with  sculptures, 
as  in  Germany  or  France,  and  there  were  few  richly  sculp- 
tured portals  of  churches  in  Italy.  The  material  mostly 
used  for  Italian  sculpture  was  fine  white  marble,  which  was 
very  rarely  colored  ;  sometimes  a  little  gilding  was  used  ; 
but  as  a  rule  painting  and  sculpture  were  not  united,  as  they 
had  been  north  of  the  Alps. 


IN    ITALY.  127 

However,  the  sculptors  of  Italy  had  a  wider  range  in  art 
than  in  other  lands  ;  for  being  less  devoted  to  the  service  of 
the  church,  they  were  employed  for  more  secular  works. 
It  is  true  that  the  separate  statues  of  the  Madonna  were 
very  numerous,  and  that  tomb-sculpture  was  important  ;  but 
added  to  these  there  were  civil  monuments  to  show  forth 
the  glory  of  the  cities  and  their  great  men,  and  there  were 
public  fountains  and  other  sculptures  which  told  of  the 
splendor  and  fame  of  each  one  of  the  many  petty  powers 
into  which  the  whole  country  was  divided.  The  council- 
halls  of  the  free  cities  were  very  fine,  and  gave  great  oppor- 
tunity to  Italian  artists  to  give  variety  to  their  works,  and 
the  sculptors  very  early  excelled  in  reliefs,  which  told  his- 
torical stories  with  great  clearness. 

As  early  as  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century  we 
can  trace  the  progress  of  Italian  sculpture  by  telling  the 
story  of  the  lives  of  separate  artists.  The  first  man  of  im- 
portance who  thus  claims  our  attention  is  NiCOLA  PiSANO, 
who  was  born  at  Pisa  between  1205  and  1207,  and  who, 
according  to  the  custom  of  his  time,  was  both  architect  and 
sculptor.  When  he  was  but  fifteen  years  old  he  received 
an  appointment  as  architect  to  Frederic  II.,  with  whom  he 
went  to  Naples  ;  he  served  this  sovereign  ten  years,  and 
then  went  to  Padua,  where  he  was  employed  as  the  archi- 
tect of  the  Basilica  of  St.  Anthony. 

In  1237  Nicola  made  his  first  essay  in  sculpture,  and 
executed  a  relief  representing  the  Deposition  from  the 
Cross,  which  still  remains  in  its  place  over  one  of  the  side 
doors  of  the  Cathedral  of  San  Martino  at  Lucca.  This 
work  was  most  excellent  as  the  attempt  of  a  young  artist, 
and  it  was  also  excellent  when  compared  with  the  work  of 
other  Italian  sculptors  who  had  preceded  him.     (Fig.  79.) 

During  the  twelve  years  following  this  time  Nicola 
Pisano  was  chiefly  employed  as  an  architect,  and  it  was  not 
until  1260  that  he  established   his   fame  as  a  sculptor;   but 


128 


SCULPTURE. 


Fig.  79.— Relief  by  Nicola  Pisano.     Lucca. 

when  we  consider  the  pulpit  for  the  Baptistery  of  Pisa, 
which  he  now  did,  it  is  plain  that  he  must  have  given  much 
thought  and  study  to  sculpture  since  his  first  work  at 
Lucca  ;  and  this  last  work  has  such  qualities  as  indicate  that 
he  had  studied  the  sculpture  of  classic  days.  The  work 
upon  this  pulpit  is  a  wonderful  advance  upon  the  sculpture 
of  the  period  ;  and  though  there  are  marks  of  his  inexperi- 
ence in  its  arrangement,  as  a  whole  it  is  above  criticism 
when  the  time  to  which  it  belonged  and  the  circumstances 
of  its  sculpture  are  taken  into  account.     (Fig.  80.) 

Nicola  went  next  to  Bologna  to  make  a  sarcophagus  to 
contain  the  remains  of  St.  Dominick,  who  had  died  there  in 
1 22 1.  This  burial-case  was  completed  in  1267,  and  is  very 
interesting  as  an  illustration  of  the  art  of  the  thirteenth 
century.  The  next  work  of  this  sculptor  was  a  pulpit  for 
the  Cathedral  of  Siena.  When  he  undertook  this  work  he 
agreed  to  live  at  Siena  until  it  was  completed,  with  the 
exception  of  short  visits  to  Pisa— four  in  each  year.  He 
had  assistants  in  this  work,  and  it  was  completed  in  about 
a  year  and  a  half.  Meantime  he  exerted  a  great  influence 
upon    the   sculpture   of   Siena,  which    up   to   this   time  had 


NICOLA   PISANO. 


129 


amounted  to  little  more  than  good  stone-cutting.  Indeed, 
Nicola  Pisano  had  an  effect  upon  the  art  of  all  Italy  :  in 
the  north  at  Padua,  in  the  south  at  Naples,  and  in  Central 
Italy  at  Pisa,  Lucca,  and  Siena. 

In  1269  he  was  commissioned  to  build  a  convent  and  an 
abbey  at  La  Scorgola,  which  are  now  in  ruins.  In  1274 
Nicola  commenced  his  last  work,  the  Fountain  of  Perugia. 
He  did  not  remain  constantly  in  that  city,  but  after  making 
the  plans  he  left  his  son  Giovanni  in  charge  of  the  work, 
while  he  returned  to  Pisa  and  occupied  himself  with  mak- 
ing the  figures  for  its  decoration.  This  fountain  was  held 
in  such  esteem  that  laws  were  enacted  for  its  preservation, 
and  it  was  called  the  most  valuable  possession  of  the  city, 


Fig.  80. — Relief  from  the  Pulpit  at  Pisa.    Nicola  Pisano. 


while  some  went  so  far  as  to  say  that  it  could  not  be  sur- 
passed in  the  world.  Even  now,  after  all  it  has  suffered 
from  time  and  weather,  it  commands  our  admiration. 


I30  SCULPTURE. 

In  1278  Nicola  died,  after  a  life  of  great  achievements. 
He  left  an  untarnished  name,  too,  for  he  had  been  loved 
and  respected   by  all  his  associates,  and  as  patron,  friend, 
and  servant  had   done   all   his  duty.      Mr.    Perkins,  in  his 
*'  Tuscan  Sculptors,"  says  of  him  :   "  Inestimable  were  the 
services  rendered   to  art  by  this  great  man.      He  gave  the 
death-blow  to  Byzantinism  and  barbarism  ;  established  new 
architectural  principles  ;  founded  a  new  school  of  sculpture 
in  Italy,  and  opened  men's  eyes  to  the  degraded  state  of 
art  by  showing  them  where  to  study  and  how  to  study  ;  so 
that   Cimabue,    Guido    da    Siena,   the    Masuccios   and    the 
Cosmati  all  profited  by  his  pervading  and  enduring  influ- 
ence.    Never  hurried  by  an  ill-regulated  imagination  into 
extravagances,    he   was  careful   in   selecting  his  objects  of 
study  and  his  methods  of  self-cultivation  ;  an  indefatigable 
worker,  who  spared  neither  time  nor  strength  in  obedience 
to  the  numerous  calls  made  upon  him  from  all  parts  of  the 
peninsula  ;  now    in    Pisa,    then    in    Naples,    Padua,    Siena, 
Lucca,  or  Florence  ;  here  to  design  a  church,  there  to  model 
a  bas-relief,  erect  a  pulpit,  a  palace  or  a  tower  ;  by  turns 
architect   and   sculptor,    great   in   both,  original   in   both,  a 
reviver  in  both,  laying  deep  and  well  the  foundations  of  his 
edifices  by  hitherto   unpractised   methods,  and   sculpturing 
his  bas-reliefs  upon   principles  evolved   from  the  study  of 
antique   models  long   unheeded.      Ever  respected  and   es- 
teemed by  the  many  persons  of  all  classes  with  whom  he 
came  in  contact,  he  was  truly  a  great  man — one  to  whom 
the  world  owes  an  eternal  debt  of  gratitude,  and  who  looms 
up  in   gigantic  proportions  through  the  mist  of  five  centu- 
ries, holding  the  same  relation  to  Italian  art  which  Dante 
holds  to  Italian  literature." 

Fka  GugltelmO  d'Agnello  (1238-13 14?),  also  a  Pisan, 
was  a  pupil  of  Nicola  Pisano,  and  worked  with  him  at 
Bologna.  There  is  little  to  be  said  of  his  works  after  his 
master's  death. 


GIOVANNI   PISANO.  I3I 

Giovanni  Pisano  (about  1 240-1 320)  was  born  at  Pisa, 
and  though  a  pupil  of  his  father  and  a  co-worker  with  him, 
he  seems  to  have  fallen  under  some  other  and  a  very  differ- 
ent influence.  In  architecture  he  preferred  the  Gothic 
style,  and  in  sculpture  he  was  fond  of  all  sorts  of  fantastic 
action  and  expression  ;  his  works  were  full  of  exaggeration. 
He  was  an  architect  as  well  as  sculptor,  and  was  a  master  in 
his  own  right  when  twenty  years  old,  and  in  1268  he  went 
to  Naples  to  design  a  church  for  the  Franciscans  ;  he  was 
also  the  architect  of  the  episcopal  palace  there. 

After  the  death  of  his  father  the  Pisans  were  anxious  to 
retain  Giovanni  in  their  service  ;  he  first  transformed  an  old 
church  into  a  new  one  in  the  pointed  style  of  architecture. 
It  v/as  named  Santa  Maria  della  Spina,  because  a  rich  mer- 
chant had  presented  one  of  the  thorns  from  the  crown  of 
Christ  to  it.  This  was  the  first  building  in  Italy  of  this 
style  of  architecture.  Giovanni  next  built  the  Campo 
Santo  of  Pisa.  Many  shiploads  of  earth  had  been  brought 
from  Palestine  to  Pisa  in  order  to  make  a  burial-place  in 
which  Christians  could  be  laid  in  the  sacred  earth.  Gio- 
vanni Pisano  inclosed  the  spot  where  this  earth  was  laid 
with  walls  and  arranged  the  interior  of  the  inclosure  in  such 
a  way  that  it  could  be  extensively  decorated  with  works  of 
art.  He  made  it  the  most  beautiful  Campo  Santo  in  Italy. 
Many  of  the  sculptures  are  by  his  own  hand.     (Fig.  81.) 

This  allegorical  representation  of  Pisa  was  the  first  at- 
tempt at  making  large  statues  in  Italy  since  the  days  of  the 
Emperor  Constantine.  The  city  stands  alone,  and  is  a  proud 
princess  with  a  diadem,  holding  in  her  arms  two  infants  to 
indicate  her  fruitfulness.  Below  her  are  four  statues  of  the 
cardinal  virtues,  Temperance  being  a  nude  figure.  It  is  a 
very  strange  work,  and  in  some  respects  not  attractive,  but 
it  shows  the  originality  of  the  sculptor  ;  the  principal  figure 
has  much  intensity  of  expression. 

From  this  monument  and  his  other  works  in  Pisa,  Gio- 


132 


SCULPTURE. 


Fig.  Si.— Campo  Santo  of  Pisa.     Giovanni  Pisano. 


vanni  became  famous,  and  was  called  to  Siena  to  build  the 
front  of  the  cathedral.  The^people  of  Siena  held  out  every 
inducement  to  him  to  make  his  home  there,  by  freeing  him 
from  taxes  for  life  ;  but  after  three  years  he  went  to  Perugia, 
where  he  erected  a  monument  which  has  been  destroyed. 
After  this  time  he  devoted  himself  entirely  to  sculpture,  and 
executed  a  variety  of  works  at  Arezzo,  Pistoja,  Florence, 
Perugia,  and  Cortona.  In  13 12  he  com*menced  the  rebuild- 
ing of  the  cathedral  at  Prato. 


ANDREA   riSANO.  133 

We  have  not  the  space  to  speak  of  his  works  m  detail. 
The  Campo  Santo  has  more  of  interest  than  the  others,  and 
is  Romanesque  in  its  character  ;  and  yet  it  is  true  that  he 
employed  Gothic  forms  far  more  than  any  other.  Some 
authors  credit  Giovanni  with  having  introduced  an  inde- 
pendent art  into  Italy  ;  but  let  that  be  as  it  may,  he  had  not 
the  feeling  for  beauty,  neither  had  he  the  repose  which  was 
such  a  charm  in  the  works  of  his  father.  At  the  same  time 
his  works  are  full  of  life  and  dramatic  action,  and  could 
never  have  been  designed  or  executed  by  any  man  who  had 
not  an  uncommon  genius. 

Arnolfo  di  Cambio  (i 232-1 310)  was  also  a  pupil  of 
Nicola  Pisano,  and  though  eight  years  older  than  Giovanni 
Pisano  he  did  not  become  an  independent  master  until  after 
Giovanni  had  won  much  fame.  There  are  some  works  in 
Rome  which  are  attributed  to  Arnolfo,  but  as  there  are  un- 
certainties about  his  being  their  author,'  it  is  not  best  for  us 
to  discuss  them  here.  He  erected  at  Orvieto,  in  the  church 
of  San  Domenico,  a  monument  to  the  Cardinal  de  Braye. 
It  was  a  very  elaborate  work,  and  the  statue  of  the  Madonna, 
which  is  placed  above  that  of  the  cardinal,  is  full  of  majestic 
spirit  and  dignified  repose.  This  is  the  only  well-authenti- 
cated sculptural  work  by  Arnolfo,  but  this  is  one  of  the 
most  finished  monuments  of  the  art  of  the  Pisan  school, 
and  is  quite  sufficient  to  bring  his  name  through  the  centu- 
ries with  honor. 

Andrea  Pisano  (i 270-1 345)  is  principally  famous  as  a 
bronze-caster,  and  his  chief  work  was  the  making  of  the 
gates  to  the  Baptistery  of  Florence,  which  have  since  been 
replaced  by  those  of  Ghiberti.  When  these  gates  were 
finished,  in  1339,  the  Signory  went  in  procession  to  view 
them  ;  this  proves  in  what  esteem  they  must  have  been 
held,  for  V\e  Signory  never  left  the  Palazzo  Vecchio  in  a 
body  except  on  the  most  important  occasions.  After  ex- 
amining the  gates  they  conferred  the  honor  of  citizenship 


134  SCULPTURE. 

upon  the  sculptor.  These  gates  told  the  story  of  John  the 
Baptist,  and  the  work  is  full  of  sentiment,  beauty,  and  sim- 
plicity, while  the  design  is  pure,  the  draperies  full  of  elegant 
grace,  and  the  execution  of  the  whole  almost  perfect. 

Nino  Pisano  was  the  son  of  the  latter.  The  time  of 
his  birth  is  not  known  ;  he  died  before  1361.  His  works 
are  pleasing,  and  he  especially  excelled  in  drapery.  They 
are  not  numerous,  and  are  seen  in  the  churches  of  Pisa. 

But  by  far  the  most  important  pupil  of  Andrea  Pisano, 
and,  indeed,  the  most  important  Tuscan  master  of  the  end 
of  the  fourteenth  century,  was  ANDREA  Arcagnuolo  DI 
ClONE,  commonly  called  Anurea  Orcagna  (1329- 1376  ?). 
This  artist  was  the  son  of  Maestro  Cione,  a  goldsmith  of 
Florence.  Orcagna  was  an  architect,  goldsmith,  sculptor, 
painter,  mosaist,  and  poet.  Painting  is  the  art  by  which  he 
is  best  known  and  of  which  he  executed  the  greatest  num- 
ber of  interesting  works.  In  this  place  we  shall  speak  of  his 
most  important  work  as  a  sculptor,  which  was  the  tabernacle 
in  the  church  of  Or  San  Michele,  in  Florence,  made  to  hold 
the  picture  of  the  Madonna  painted  by  Ugolino  da  Siena. 
This  tabernacle  is  of  white  marble  in  the  Gothic  style.  It 
rises  from  the  centre  high  up  toward  the  roof  of  the  church, 
and  has  sculptures  in  bas-relief,  statuettes  and  busts,  all 
illustrating  the  life  of  the  Virgin  from  her  birth  to  her 
death.  It  is  also  enriched  with  mosaics,  intaglios,  enamels, 
gilded  glass,  pietra  dura,  and  all  of  these  arranged  in  a 
whole  which  is  quite  unique  in  art.  It  may  be  regarded  as 
a  piece  of  architecture  or  as  a  sculptural  work,  and  it  is  full 
of  symbolism  ;  and  whatever  view  is  taken  of  it,  it  com- 
mands admiration  for  the  artist  who  conceived  and  executed 
so  difficult  a  task. 

During  the  later  years  of  .the  fourteenth  century  there 
were  many  sculptors  in  Italy  of  whom  we  know  very  little 
more  than  their  names.  They  did  a  vast  amount  of  work 
in  all  parts  of  the  country,  much  of  which  is  still  to  be  seen. 


PIETRO   TEDESCO.  135 

One  of  these,  of  whom  few  personal  facts  are  known,  ex- 
erted a  large  influence  in  Florence,  where  the  fruits  of  his 
industry  were  almost  marvellous.  He  was  called  PlETRO 
Di  Giovanni  and  Pietro  Tedesco,  or  ''the  German." 
The  time  and  place  of  his  birth  are  not  known,  but  the 
records  show  that  he  worked  on  the  Cathedral  of  Florence 
from  1386  to  1399.  He  worked  in  true  German  style  ; 
wherever  scroll-work  and  simple  ornamental  designs  were 
required  he  mingled  a  variety  of  leaves  and  flowers  where 
the  acanthus  alone  had  before  been  used.  He  also  made 
fantastic  little  human  beings,  dwarfs  and  grotesque  beings 
of  different  sorts,  and  exhausted  the  animal  world  in  his 
designs.  Lions,  bears,  apes,  dogs,  lizards,  crabs,  birds  and 
fish,  bees,  butterflies,  and  all  manner  of  insects  may  be  seen 
nestling  among  vines  and  branches,  while  angels  play  on 
pipes  and  violas.  The  whole  effect  of  these  works  is  cheer- 
ful and  natural,  and  would  be  as  suitable  to  decorate  a 
music  hall  or  a  theatre  as  they  are  for  a  church. 

The  works  of  this  master  are  too  extreme  in  the  realistic 
element  to  be  taken  as  a  fair  example  of  the  Italian  sculp- 
ture of  this  time,  but  NiCCOLO  OF  Arrezzo,  the  Mas- 
SEGNE,  and  the  BON  or  BUONI  family,  and  many  others 
in  different  portions  of  the  country  contributed  to  put  aside 
the  stiff,  formal  manner  of  the  past,  and  to  bring  in  the 
more  sympathetic  and  natural  one  of  the  fifteenth  century. 
In  truth,  the  last  decades  of  the  fourteenth  century  were  a 
transition  period,  when  art  was  bursting  its  bonds,  and  was 
preparing  for  the  glorious  works  of  the  golden  days  of 
sculpture  in  Italy. 


CHAPTER   V. 

ITALIAN    SCULPTURE   IN   THE   FIFTEENTH   CENTURY. 

THERE  was  no  one  great  influence  or  circumstance 
which  led  up  to  the  revival  of  art  and  letters  which 
took  place  in  the  fifteenth  century,  and  which  is  known 
under  the  general  name  of  the  Renaissance.  Its  causes 
were  many,  and  may  be  traced  in  every  department  of  the 
life  of  the  Middle  Ages — in  religion,  politics,  learning,  and 
the  habits  of  the  people.  This  is  far  too  great  a  topic  for 
us  to  enter  on  here,  and  we  must  keep  to  the  one  matter 
which  we  have  in  hand. 

In  Italy,  heretofore,  as  we  have  shown,  sculpture  had 
been  almost  entirely  separated  from  other  arts,  and  stood 
by  itself.  Its  works  had  been  the  smaller  objects  of  which 
we  have  spoken  ;  and  though  these  were  oftentimes  splendid 
in  their  design  and  execution,  they  did  not  afford  the 
sculptor  the  same  broad  field  for  his  work  as  he  has  when 
his  productions  are  combined  with  architecture.  Now  all 
this  was  changed.  The  French  and  German  artists  had 
brought  out  a  style  of  architecture  of  their  own,  the  Ital- 
ians pursued  another  course,  and  went  back  to  classic  art  for 
their  teaching,  and  now  every  opportunity  was  given  for 
sculpture  to  assume  its  utmost  importance  ;  and  the  art  of 
ancient  Greece  was  studied  with  all  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
Italian  nature. 

The  masters  of  Florence,  or,  rather,  of  Tuscany,  were  of 
great  importance  in  the  beginning  of  the  new  movement. 


JACOPO   BELLA   QUERCIA.  137 

and  I  shall  speak  first  of  them.  FRANCESCO  Squarcione, 
who  lived  from  1396  to  1474,  was  a  painter,  and  travelled  into 
Greece  to  collect  antique  objects,  and  made  many  drawings 
from  the  monuments  which  he  saw.  He  established  a 
school  in  Padua,  and  his  museum  was  of  advantage  to 
sculptors  as  well  as  to  painters.  Other  Tuscan  artists  who 
were  in  love  with  classic  art  wandered  among  its  remains  in 
Rome  and  other  parts  of  Italy,  and  brought  back  to  their 
homes  a  greater  knowledge  of  sculpture,  as  well  as  the 
drawings  which  they  had  made  ;  and  in  this  part  of  Italy  the 
Renaissance  early  made  itself  a  living,  active  power. 

Among  the  very  first  of  these  sculptors  was  Jacopo 
BELLA  QuERCIA  (1374-1438),  who  was  SO  called  from  the 
little  market  town  of  Quercia,  near  Siena,  in  which  he  was 
born.  His  father  was  a  goldsmith,  and  instructed  his  son 
in  his  art  ;  but  the  boy  loved  sculpture,  and  studied  it 
under  one  Luca  di  Giovanni.  When  but  nineteen  years  old 
he  made  an  equestrian  statue  of  wood,  and  covered  it  with 
cloth,  and  painted  it  to  represent  marble  in  a  manner  which 
proved  him  to  be  an  artist.  About  this  time  he  left  his 
home,  and  the  next  that  we  know  of  him  was  about  ten  years 
later,  when  his  design  for  the  gates  of  the  Baptistery  of 
Florence  was  pronounced  to  be  next  in  merit  to  those  of 
Ghiberti  and  Brunelleschi. 

In  1408  Quercia  went  to  Ferrara,  where  he  did  several 
works.  While  there  he  was  called  by  the  Signory  of  Siena 
to  make  a  new  fountain  in  the  Piazza  del  Campo.  This 
was  a  beautiful  work,  and  even  in  this  century,  though 
much  injured,  its  remaining  sculptures  prove  that  it  must 
have  been  a  wonder  in  its  day.  It  has  been  restored  after 
the  original  model  by  Quercia,  who  was  often  called  Jacopo 
della  Fonte  on  account  of  this  work.  He  executed  some 
sculptures  in  Lucca,  but  his  masterpiece  was  the  decoration 
of  the  great  portal  of  the  Basilica  of  San  Petronio,  at 
Bologna.     (Fig.  82.) 


138 


SCULPTURE. 


The  fifteen  reliefs  here  represent  the  history  of  Adam 
and  Eve,  and  other  stories  from  the  creation  to  the  deluge. 
They  show  the  full  freedom  and  power  of  Quercia's  style, 

and  are  among  the 
most  attractive  of  all 
the  Tuscan  sculptures 
of  this  period.  Dur- 
ing the  last  years  of 
his  life  this  artist  was 
employed  as  superin- 
tendent of  the  works 
upon  the  Cathedral  of 
Siena,  in  which  city 
he  died. 

We  come  now  to 
speak  of  the  famous 
Lorenzo  Ghiberti 
(1378-145  5),  who  was 
born  in  Florence,  and 
was  both  a  goldsmith 
and  sculptor  ;  and 
though  his  fame  rests 
upon  his  bas-reliefs, 
yet  the  exquisite  detail  and  careful  finish  in  them  came 
from  his  practice  of  the  goldsmith's  art.  In  1398  a  plague 
broke  out  in  Florence,  and  Ghiberti  fled  to  Rimini  for 
safety.  While  there  he  painted  a  few  pictures  ;  but  his 
name  is  so  linked  with  the  splendid  gates  which  he  made 
for  the  Baptistery  of  Florence  that  it  is  of  those  that  one 
naturally  thinks  when  his  name  is  heard. 

We  have  spoken  of  the  gates  which  Andrea  Pisano  had 
made  to  this  Baptistery  long  before  ;  these  were  for  the 
south  side  ;  and  when,  in  1400,  the  plague  again  visited 
Florence  ^he  people  believed  that  the  wrath  of  Heaven 
should  be  appeased  by  a  thank-offering.     Accordingly  the 


Fig.  82, — Relief  by  Jacopo  della 
QUERCIA.     Bologna. 


GHIBERTI.  139 

Guild   of  Wool-merchants  promised   to   add   gates   on   the 
north  and  east  of  the  Baptistery  of  St.  John  the  Baptist. 

A  time  was  appointed  for  the  examination  of  designs, 
and  many  artists  entered  into  the  competition,  and  sent  in 
their  drawings  and  models.  A  great  number  of  these  rep- 
resented the  Sacrifice  of  Isaac.  At  length  all  the  models 
were  set  aside  but  two,  and  these  were  made  by  Brunelleschi 
and  Ghiberti  ;  then  the  former  declared  that  he  thought  his 
rival's  design  the  best,  thus  showing  a  nobility  of  character 
which  cannot  be  too  much  praised. 

The  commission  was  thus  given  to  Ghiberti,  who  first 
executed  the  northern  gates.  He  began  them  in  1403,  and 
finished  them  twenty-one  years  later.  They  illustrate  the 
life  of  Christ  in  twenty  scenes  ;  they  have  also  the  figures 
of  the  evangelists  and  the  four  Fathers  of  the  Church  in  a 
beautiful  frame-work  of  foliage,  animals,  and  other  orna- 
mental figures,  which  divides  and  incloses  the  larger  com- 
positions. These  gates  are  done  in  a  manner  much  in 
advance  of  that  of  Pisano,  and  yet  they  retain  some  feat- 
ures of  an  earlier  style  which  are  not  found  in  Ghiberti's 
later  works.  But  from  the  first  he  showed  original  talent, 
as  one  may  see  by  his  model  of  the  Sacrifice  of  Isaac,  which 
is  preserved  in  the  Museum  of  the  Bargello,  beside  that  of 
Brunelleschi. 

These  northern  gates  are  very  beautiful,  but  those  on 
the  east  are  far  more  so  ;  it  is  of  these  last  that  Michael 
Angelo  declared,  "They  are  worthy  to  be  the  gates  of 
Paradise!"  These  are  divided  into  ten  compartments, 
representing  :  i.  Creation  of  Adam  and  Eve  ;  2,  History  of 
Cain  and  Abel  ;  3,  Noah  ;  4»  Abraham  and  Isaac  ;  S»  Jacob 
and  Esau  ;  6,  History  of  Joseph  ;  7,  Moses  on  Mount  Smai ; 
8,  Joshua  before  Jericho  ;  9,  David  and  Goliath  ;  10,  Solo- 
mon and  the  Queen  of  Sheba  (Fig.  83). 

This  sculptor  showed  great  skill  for  one  in  his  age,  but 
to  us  there  is  some  disappointment  in  them  on  account  of 


140 


SCULPTURE. 


the  crowded  appearance  of  the  figures.  Familiarity  with 
them,  however,  reveals  their  beauty,  and  we  find  that,  in 
truth,  the  stories  Ghiberti  wished  to  tell  are  brought  out 
with  much  distinctness.  They  will  ever  remain  one  of  the 
great  monuments  of  the  sculpture  of  the  Renaissance. 

Ghiberti  endeavored  to  introduce  fine  backgrounds  to 
his  reliefs,  which  gave  him  an  opportunity  to  add  fi,gures 
illustrating  other  incidents  than  the  principal  one  of  the 
work.  His  sculptures  show  the  influence  of  the  Gothic 
style,  the  study  of  nature  and  that  of  the  antique  all  com- 
bined ;  with  these  are  united  his  own  power  of  conception, 
his  ability  in  design,  and  his  wonderful  delicacy  of  execu- 
tion. These  gates  have  been  continually  studied  by  the 
artists  of  his  own  and  succeeding  generations. 

The  next  work  of  importance  by  Ghiberti  is  the  sar- 
cophagus of  St.  Zenobius  in  the  Cathedral  of  Florence. 
Other  lesser  sculptures  are  in  other  churches  in  Florence 
and  in  the  Cathedral  of  Siena. 

We  come  now  to  one  of  the  most  interesting  sculptors 
of  the  fifteenth  century.  DONATELLO  he  was  called,  but 
his  real  name  w^as  DONATO  DI  Betto  Bardi  (i  386-1468). 
He  was  born  in  Florence,  and  from  his  boyhood  was  a 
member  of  the  family  of  the  rich  banker  Ruberto  Martelli, 
who  was  the  firm  friend  of  the  sculptor  for  life,  and  when 
he  died  he  provided  in  his  will  that  the  works  by  Donatello 
which  he  bequeathed  to  his  family  should  never  be  pledged, 
sold,  or  given  away,  but  kept  as  a  perpetual  inheritance  for 
his  heirs.  Donatello  was  a  realist,  and  followed  nature  with 
great  exactness.  This  was  not  always  productive  of  beauty 
in  his  works  ;  indeed,  some  of  them  are  very  ugly,  and  a 
story  which  illustrates  this  is  told  of  himself  and  Brunelles- 
chi.  Donatello  had  made  a  crucifix,  carved  from  wood,  for 
the  Church  of  Santa  Croce,  and  when  it  was  finished  he 
asked  Brunelleschi's  opinion  of  it.  This  latter  artist  was 
principally  an  architect  ;   but  as  he  had  learned  the  gold- 


Fig.  83. — From  the  Eastern  Gates.     Shozving  compartments  6,  8,  and  10. 


142 


SCULPTURE. 


smith's  trade,  he  executed  some  sculptures,  and  a  close 
friendship  existed  between  himself  and  Donatello.  Rely- 
ing on  their  love  for  each  other,  Brunelleschi  frankly  told 
Donatello  that  his  crucifix  was  very  ugly,  and  his  figure  of 
Christ  like  that  of  a  day-laborer,  whereas  it  should  repre- 
sent a  person  of  the  greatest  possible  beauty. 

Donatello  was  very  angry  at  this,  and  exclaimed,  "  It  is 
easier  to  criticise  than  to  execute  ;  do  you  take  a  piece  of 
wood  and  make  a  better  crucifix!"  Brunelleschi  deter- 
mined to  do  this,  and  when  his  work  was  finished  he  invited 
Donatello  to  sup  with  him.  He  placed  the  crucifix  in  a 
conspicuous  place  in  his  house,  and  then  took  Donatello 
with  him  to  the  market  to  buy  their  food.  He  gave  the 
parcels  to  Donatello,  and  asked  him  to  go  before  to  the 
house,  saying  that  he  would  soon  follow.  When  Donatello 
entered  and  saw  the  crucifix  he  was  so  delighted  at  the 
sight  that  he  forgot  everything  else,  and  dropped  the  eggs, 
cheese,  and  all  on  the  floor,  and  stood  gazing  at  the  carving 
as  motionless  as  if  he  were  a  statue  himself.  When  Bru- 
nelleschi came  he  said,  "What  are  we  to  do  now?  You 
have  spoiled  all  the  dinner  !" 

"  I  have  had  dinner  enough  for  to-day,"  replied  Dona- 
tello. ''  You  may  have  a  better  appetite.  To  you,  I  con- 
fess, belongs  the  power  of  carving  the  figure  of  Christ  ;  to 
me  that  of  representing  day-laborers." 

This  famous  crucifix  by  Brunelleschi  is  now  in  the  Gondi 
Chapel  of  the  Church  of  Santa  Maria  Novella  ;  that  by 
Donatello  is  in  the  chapel  of  Saints  Ludovico  and  Barto- 
lommeo  in  the  Church  of  Santa  Croce. 

The  Annunciation  cut  from  sandstone,  which  is  in  Santa 
Croce,  is  one  of  his  earliest  works,  and  is  full  of  grace  and 
nobleness  (Fig.  84).  He  made  some  beautiful  groups  of 
dancing  children,  which  are  now  in  the  Uffizi  Gallery  ;  but 
he  considered  his  David,  which  is  in  the  same  gallery,  as 
his  masterpiece.      He  was  so  proud  of  it  that  he  swore  by 


DONATELLO. 


143 


it,  saying,  "By  the  faith  I  have  in  my  Zuccone  !"  This 
word  means  bald-head,  and  had  come  to  be  used  as  the 
usual  name  for  the  David. 


Fig.  84. — The  Annunciation.     By  Donatello, 

But  in  spite  of  his  liking  for  the  David,  it  is  generally 
thought  that  his  St.  George,  on  the  exterior  of  the  Church 
of  Or  San  Michele,  is  far  better.  The  German  art-writer 
Grimm  thus  speaks  of  this  work:  "What  a  man  is  the 
St.  George  in  the  niche  of  the  Church  of  Or  San  Michele  ! 
He  stands  there  in  complete  armor,  sturdily,  with  his 
legs  somewhat  striding  apart,  resting  on  both  with  equal 
weight,  as  if  he  meant  to  stand  so  that  no  power  could 
move  him  from  his  post.     Straight  before  him  he  holds  up 


144 


SCULPTURE. 


Fig.  85. — Statue  of  St.  George. 

Ev  Dona  ft- Ho. 


his  high  shield  ;  both  hands 
touch  its  edge,  partly  for  the 
sake  of  holding  it,  partly  in 
order  to  rest  on  it  ;  the  eyes 
and  brows  are  full  of  expect- 
ant boldness.  .  .  .  We  ap- 
proach this  St.  George,  and 
the  mere  artistic  interest  is 
transformed  suddenly  into  a 
more  lively  sympathy  with 
the  person  of  the  master.  .  .  . 
Who  is  it,  we  ask,  who  has 
placed  such  a  man  there,  so 
ready  for  battle  ?"  (Fig.  85.) 
Donatello's  impetuosity 
led  him  into  many  rash  acts. 
Among  other  instances  of 
this  it  is  related  that  a  rich 
Genoese  merchant  gave  an 
order  for  a  portrait  bust  of 
himself  in  bronze  ;  when  it 
was  finished  the  great  Duke 
Cosimo  de'  Medici,  who  was 
a  friend  of  Donatello,  ad- 
mired the  work  so  much  that 
he  placed  it  on  his  balcony, 
so  that  all  Florentines  who 
passed  by  could  see  it.  When 
the  merchant  was  given  the 
price  of  the  bust  he  objected 
to  it,  and  it  was  referred  to 
Duke  Cosimo  for  settlement. 
In  the  conversation  the  Gen- 
oese said  that  the  bust  could 
be    made    in   a    month,    and 


DONATELLO.  HS 

that  he  was  willing  to  pay  the  artist  a  dollar  a  day  for  his 
time  and  labor. 

When  Donatello  heard  this  he  exclaimed,  "  I  know  how 
to  destroy  the  result  of  the  study  of  years  in  the  twinkling 
of  an  eye  !"  and  he  threw  the  bust  into  the  street  below, 
where  it  was  broken  into  fragments.  Then  the  merchant 
was  deeply  mortified,  and  offered  the  sculptor  double  the 
price  he  had  asked  if  he  would  repeat  the  work  ;  but 
though  Donatello  sadly  needed  the  money  he  would  not  do 
this,  and  persisted  in  his  refusal,  even  when  Cosimo  de' 
Medici  tried  to  persuade  him  to  consent. 

When  Donatello  was  old  Duke  Cosimo  gave  him  an 
allowance  which  would  support  himself  and  four  workmen  ; 
but  in  spite  of  this  Donatello  wore  such  shabby  clothes 
that  Cosimo  sent  him  a  red  surcoat,  a  mantle  and  hood. 
These  Donatello  returned,  saying  they  were  far  too  fine  for 
him.  When  the  sculptor  at  length  became  feeble  and  bed- 
ridden his  benefactor  had  died,  but  Piero  de'  Medici,  the 
son  of  Cosimo,  was  careful  to  keep  him  in  comfort ;  and 
when  he  died  his  funeral  was  attended  with  much  cere- 
mony. He  was  buried  near  Duke  Cosimo,  in  the  Church  of 
San  Lorenzo. 

Several  of  Donatello's  works  are  in  this  church,  and  are 
a  more  suitable  monument  to  his  memory  than  any  that 
could  be  made  by  other  hands. 

The  works  of  Donatello  are  numerous,  both  in  marble 
and  bronze,  and  in  both  these  substances  he  made  statues 
and  reliefs.  We  cannot  speak  in  detail  of  all  that  he  ac- 
complished ;  but  as  he  lived  in  an  age  when  every  advance 
in  art  was  an  event  in  history,  we  must  not  forget  to  say 
that  he  made  the  first  equestrian  statue  which  had  been 
produced  since  the  time  of  the  Romans.  This  statue  is  in 
Padua,  in  front  of  the  Church  of  San  Antonio  ;  it  is  of 
colossal  size,  and  represents  the  Venetian  General  Gattame- 
lata  ;  and  though   it   does  not  satisfy  our  conception  as  an 


146  SCULPTURE. 

equestrian  statue,  it  is  worthy  of  some  praise  when  we 
remember  all  the  circumstances  of  its  origin.  It  is  not 
probable  that  Donatello  had  ever  seen  an  antique  eques- 
trian statue,  unless  it  might  have  been  that  of  Marcus 
Aurelius,  which  was  found  in  the  Forum  in  1187  ;  no  mod- 
ern statues  existed  as  examples  for  him  ;  he  was  not  familiar 
with  the  modelling  of  horses,  and  for  every  reason  it  was  a 
bold  thing  for  him  to  undertake  such  a  work. 

Donatello  had  more  influence  .upon  the  art  of  his  time 
than  any  other  Tuscan  sculptor,  with  the  single  exception 
of  Michael  Angelo.  As  a  man  he  was  honest,  simple,  and 
upright  in  all  his  dealings  ;  as  a  friend  he  was  loyal  and 
faithful  ;  as  a  Christian  he  was  humble  and  charitable,  and 
left  behind  him  a  name  which  has  been  handed  down 
through  more  than  four  centuries  with  respect  and  honor. 

LUCA  BELLA  ROBBIA  (1400-1481)  is  another  native  of 
Florence,  whose  name  is  widely  known.  Like  many  others, 
he  began  life  as  a  goldsmith,  and  in  this  way  gained  a  mas- 
tery over  detail  and  a  finish  of  style  that  are  remarkable  in 
all  his  works.  He  turned  his  attention  to  sculpture  early 
in  life,  and  was  so  enthusiastic  in  his  pursuit  of  this  art  that 
he  worked  night  and  day,  minding  neither  cold  nor  hun- 
ger and  fatigue  ;  in  the  beginning  he  made  numerous  wax 
models,  which  have  perished,  and  with  all  his  industry  we 
have  no  work  of  his  before  he  was  forty-five  years  old,  ex- 
cept the  reliefs  of  Music,  Philosophy,  Geometry,  Grammar 
and  Astronomy,  Plato  and  Aristotle,  Ptolemy  and  Euclid, 
and  a  man  playing  a  lute,  which  are  set  into  the  side  of  the 
Campanile  at  Florence,  and  two  scenes  from  the  life  of 
St.  Peter,  which  are  in  the  Uffizi. 

In  the  same  gallery  are  also  the  series  of  reliefs  which 
Luca  began  when  forty-five  years  old  for  the  balustrade  of 
an  organ  in  the  cathedral.  These  reliefs  represent  boys 
singing,  dancing,  and  playing  on  musical  instruments  (Fig. 
86).     The  attitudes  are  so  graceful  and  so  varied,  and  the 


LUCA   DELLA   ROBBIA.  I47 

expressions  on  the  faces  are  so  many,  that  there  is  much  to 
admire  in  a  subject  which  in  unskilful  hands  would  be  very 
monotonous. 


Fig.  86. — Dancing  Boys.     By  Luca  delta  Robbia. 

No  sculptures  since  the  classic  days  represent  child-life 
with  such  freshness  and  charming  qualities,  and  these  alone 
would  have  raised  Luca  to  a  high  rank  as  a  sculptor.  In 
the  Ufifizi  one  is  able  to  examine  these  works  closely,  and 
they  gain  by  this  nearness  to  the  eye,  which  enables  one  to 
see  the  minuteness  of  his  finish.  There  are  various  works 
of  his  in  bronze  and  marble  still  to  be  seen  in  the  churches 


148  SCULPTURE. 

of  Florence,  but  the  special  art  to  which  he  gave  his  atten- 
tion was  to  the  perfecting  of  enamel  upon  terra-cotta — on 
the  making  of  what  is  known  as  the  Robbia  ware.  In  this 
he  achieved  a  great  success,  and  his  bas-reliefs  are  very- 
beautiful.  At  first  he  used  but  few  colors,  but  later  he  in- 
creased their  number,  and  was  able  to  produce  a  combined 
effect  of  painting  and  relief  that  is  very  pleasing. 

These  works  were  used  for  altar-pieces,  medallions  on 
exteriors,  fountains,  wall  decoration,  and  a  great  variety  of 
purposes.  Twelve  medallions  representing  the  months, 
which  are  in  the  South  Kensington  Museum,  are  said  tO' 
have  been  made  by  Luca  to  decorate  a  writing  cabinet  for 
one  of  the  Medici. 

Luca  worked  with  his  nephew,  Andrea,  who  had  four 
sons  ;  and  when  Luca  died  his  secrets  belonged  to  them,  and 
made  their  fortunes.  They  were  occupied  eleven  years  in 
making  a  frieze  to  a  hospital  in  Pistoja  ;  it  represented  the 
Seven  Acts  of  Mercy.  One  of  them  went  to  France  and 
decorated  the  Chateau  of  Madrid  for  Francis  L  Pope 
Leo  X.  employed  another  to  pave  the  Loggie  of  the  Vati- 
can with  Robbia  tiles,  and  these  wares,  in  one  form  and 
another,  were  used  in  numberless  ways,  both  useful  and 
decorative. 

The  Robbia  family  was  followed  by  other  workers  in 
glazed  ware,  and  during  about  a  century  it  was  a  promi- 
nent feature  in  art,  and  then  was  gradually  given  up. 

The  most  noted  pupil  of  Donatello  was  Andrea  del 
Verocciiio  (1432-1488).  He  was  born  at  Florence,  and 
was  early  apprenticed  to  a  goldsmith  called  Verocchio, 
from  whom  the  sculptor  took  his  surname.  It  is  said  that 
this  name  came  from  the  fact  that  the  elder  Verocchio  had 
remarkable  exactness  of  sight. 

Neither  the  metal  works  nor  the  paintings  which  Veroc- 
chio did  remain,  and  after  about  1466  he  devoted  himself 
entirely  to  sculpture.      It  is  difficult  to  associate  him  with 


VEROCCHIO. 


149 


Donatello  ;  his  execution  is  finished  like  most  sculptors 
who  were  also  metal-workers  ;  his  nude  parts  are  true  to 
nature,  but  not  graceful  or  attractive,  and  his  draperies  are 
in  small  folds,  which  give  a  tumbled,  crumpled  effect  rather 
than  that  of  the  easy,  graceful  falling  of  soft  material. 

His  best  works  are  a  David  in  the  Museum  of  the  Bar- 
gello,  Florence  ;  a 
bronze  Genius  press- 
ing a  Dolphin  to 
itself  on  a  fountain 
in  the  court  of  the 
Palazzo  Vecchio  (Fig. 
87)  ;  an  equestrian 
statue  of  Colleoni 
before  the  Church 
of  San  Giovanni  e 
Paolo,  Venice  (Fig. 
88) ;  and  a  group  of 
St.  Thomas  examin- 
ing the  Wounds  of 
Christ  at  the  Church 
of  Or  San  Michele, 
Florence.  This  last 
work  is  in  his  best 
and  latest  manner  ; 
the  expression  is 
powerful,  but  the 
drapery  is  still  very 
faulty. 

Although  this  equestrian  statue  is  called  by  Verocchio's 
name,  he  did  not  live  to  see  it  completed  ;  and  though  it 
was  without  doubt  made  from  his  design,  still  some  credit 
for  its  execution  is  due  to  Alessandro  Leopardo,  who  fin- 
ished it.  When  Colleoni  died  he  left  all  his  large  fortune 
to  the  Republic   of  Venice   on  condition  that  they  should 


Fig.  87. — Boy  with  Dolphin 


J^erocchio, 


ISO 


SCULPTURE. 


erect  an  equestrian  monument  to  him  in  the  square  of 
St.  Mark.  As  it  was  forbidden  by  the  laws  of  Venice  to 
place  such  things  in  the  Piazza  of  St.  Mark,  it  was  placed 
in  its  present  position,  before  the  Church  of  San  Giovanni  e 
Paolo,  on  the  square  of  the  School  of  St.  Mark,  and  it  was 
thought  that  this  answered  the  requirements  of  the  will. 


Fig.  88. — Statue  of  Colleoni.     By  Verocchio. 

When  Verocchio  had  gone  to  Venice  and  had  modelled 
the  horse,  he  was  told  that  the  Signory  intended  to  have 
the  rider  made  by  another  sculptor.  He  felt  this  to  be  an 
insult,  and  broke  off  the  head  and  legs  of  the  horse,  and  left 
Venice  for  Florence.  The  Signory  issued  a  decree  forbid- 
ding him  to  set  foot  again  on  Venetian  soil  under  pain  of 
death.      The  sculptor  replied  that  he  should  not  take  the 


THE   ROSSELLINI.  15I 

risk,  as  he  well  knew  that  the  Signory  could  take  off  his 
head,  and  he  could  not  put  it  on,  while  he  could  replace  his 
horse's  head  with  a  better  one.  The  Venetians  knew  that 
this  was  true,  and  repealed  their  decree,  and  doubling  his 
pay,  asked  him  to  come  to  complete  his  work.  Verocchio 
consented  to  do  so,  but  had  not  been  long  in  Venice  when 
he  died.  Verocchio  is  said  to  have  spent  much  time  in 
drawing  from  the  antique,  and  his  works  prove  him  to  have 
been  diligent  and  painstaking  ;  these  qualities  made  him 
the  sculptor  that  he  was  ;  but  we  see  no  traces  in  his  work 
of  the  heaven-born  genius  which  makes  the  artist  great,  and 
so  inspires  himself  that  his  works  fill  all  beholders  with  an 
enthusiasm  in  a  degree  akin  to  his  own  ;  the  works  of  such 
artists  as  Verocchio,  who  have  only  the  excellencies  which 
come  from  patient  industry,  interest  us,  but  they  cannot 
move  our  hearts. 

It  often  happened  in  Italy  that  a  number  of  artists  be- 
longed to  the  same  family,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Robbias. 
One  such  family  had  the  name  of  Gambarelli,  but  were 
known  in  art  as  the  ROSSELLINI.  There  were  five  sculptors 
of  this  name,  all  brothers.  Two  of  them  had  great  ability, 
Bernardo  and  Antonio.  Bernardo  was  most  distinguished 
as  an  architect,  and  some  very  celebrated  edifices  were 
built  from  his  designs  ;  he  also  executed  some  excellent 
sculptures,  among  which  are  the  fine  monument  of  Lionardo 
Bruni  in  the  Church  of  Santa  Croce,  and  that  of  the  Beata 
Villana  in  Santa  Maria  Novella,  Florence.  The  first  is  one 
of  the  best  monuments  in  Tuscany.  In  the  Uf¥izi  are  a 
bust  of  St.  John,  a  charming  work,  and  a  portrait  bust  of 
Battista  Sforza. 

Antonio  Rossellino  (1427-1490),  called  Proconsolo, 
from  the  quarter  of  Florence  in  which  he  was  born,  was  by 
far  the  best  sculptor  of  the  family.  He  is  called  a  pupil  of 
Donatello,  but  his  work  very  closely  resembles  that  of 
Ghiberti.     Among  his  best  works  are  the  monument   to 


152  SCULPTURE. 

Cardinal  Portogallo,  in  the  Church  of  San  Miniato,  near 
Florence  ;  that  of  Mary  of  Aragon  in  Monte  Oliveto  at 
Naples  ;  a  relief  of  the  Nativity  in  the  same  church,  and  a 
relief  of  the  Adoring  Madonna  in  the  Uf^zi  Galler}',  His 
characteristics  were  grace,  delicacy  of  treatment,  sweetness 
of  expression,  and  all  these  combined  with  a  noble  dignity. 

Other  Tuscan  sculptors  of  this  period  were  Desiderio 
DA  Settignano,  Mino  da  Fiesole  (1400-1486),  Andrea 
Ferrucci  (1465-1526),  and  Benedetto  da  Majano 
(1442-1498),  who  was  eminent  as  an  architect  as  well  as  for 
his  sculpture.  His  father  was  a  stone-cutter,  and  two 
other  sons  in  the  family  were  artists.  Benedetto  began  life 
as  a  worker  in  wooden  mosaics,  or  intarsiatore,  as  it  is 
called.  He  made  two  beautiful  inlaid  chests,  and  carried 
them  to  Hungary  as  a  gift  to  King  Matthias  Corvinus, 
whose  fame  as  a  patron  of  art  had  reached  his  ears.  But 
the  young  artist  was  doomed  to  a  dreadful  disappointment, 
for  when  he  unpacked  his  chests  in  the  presence  of  the  king 
it  was  found  that  the  sea-damp  had  spoiled  them,  and  the 
mosaics  had  fallen  apart.  Benedetto  then  determined  to 
work  in  more  durable  materials,  and  executed  some  sculp- 
tures in  marble  and  terra-cotta  while  he  remained  in  Hun- 
gary. 

After  his  return  to  Florence,  Benedetto  worked  as  an 
architect,  and  the  Strozzi  Palace  was  built  after  his  design. 
His  masterpiece  in  sculpture  was  the  monument  to  Filippo 
Strozzi,  in  the  Strozzi  Chapel  in  Santa  Maria  Novella,  and 
it  also  merits  mention  among  the  best  works  of  the  fifteenth 
century.  A  pulpit  in  Santa  Croce,  by  Benedetto,  is  also 
very  fine,  and  his  skill  was  shown  here  in  his  supporting  the 
pulpit  against  a  column  and  putting  the  staircase  by  which 
the  pulpit  is  entered  inside  the  column  ;  thus  it  was  con- 
cealed, and  the  building  in  no  wise  weakened,  while  the 
pulpit  is  far  more  beautiful  than  it  would  be  were  the  stair- 
case in  sight. 


CIVITALI.  153 

Benedetto  was  summoned  to  Naples  by  the  Duke  of 
Calabria,  who  gave  him  commissions  which  occupied  him 
for  two  years.  Few  Tuscan  sculptors  have  produced  more 
pleasing  works  than  Benedetto's  ;  though  not  profound  they 
are  pleasing  and  unaffected,  and  in  whatever  frame  of  mind 
one  may  be,  they  do  not  disturb,  but  rather  soothe  and 
charm,  as  they  could  not  do  if  they  were  false  in  sentiment 
or  executed  in  an  affected  manner. 

Matteo  Civitali  di  Giovanni  (1435-1501)  was  bom 
in  Lucca,  but  studied  art  in  Florence.  His  statue  of 
St.  Sebastian  in  the  Cathedral  of  Lucca  was  so  much  ad- 
mired by  the  painter  Perugino  that  he  copied  it  in  his  pic- 
ture of  the  Entombment. 

Civitali's  chief  work  in  sculpture  was  the  tomb  of  Pietro 
da  Noceto  in  the  same  cathedral.  In  Genoa,  in  the  Chapel 
of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  he  executed  six  statues  and  five 
bas-reliefs.  A  bas-relief  of  Faith  by  Civitali  in  the  Uffizi 
Gallery  is  a  fine  work,  full  of  earnestness  and  deep  religious 
feeling. 

Civitali  was  also  an  accomplished  architect,  and  did 
much  to  improve  the  style  of  building  in  Lucca.  The 
beautiful  temple  of  the  Volto  Santo  in  the  cathedral  was 
designed  by  him. 

This  sculptor  may  be  said  to  have  had  four  different 
styles  of  work.  The  St.  Sebastian  was  in  his  earliest  man- 
ner, and  is  simply  realistic  ;  his  second  manner  was  the 
best  ;  it  is  pure  and  dignified  in  conception,  while  deep 
feeling  pervades  all  ;  the  tomb  of  Noceto  was  in  this  sec- 
ond style  ;  his  third  manner  was  more  free  and  less  pure, 
while  the  fourth,  as  seen  in  his  work  at  Genoa,  is  full  of 
extravagant  exaggeration. 

Next  to  the  sculptors  of  the  Tuscan  or  Florentine  school 
of  this  period  were  those  of  Venice  in  importance  and  in- 
dependence of  manner.  This  school  was  much  influenced 
by  that  of  Tuscany  because  of  the  nearness  of  the  two  cities 


154  SCULPTURE. 

and  the  constant  communication  between  them,  as  well  as 
by  the  fact  that  Tuscan  sculptors  were  more  or  less  em- 
ployed in  Venice.  One  of  the  earliest  Venetian  sculptors 
was  Antonio  Giovanni  Bregno,  called  Antonio  Rizzo 
or  RicCIO  (about  1430-1498  ?).  Although  he  was  born  in 
Verona,  and  there  had  the  opportunity  to  study  the  Roman 
ruins  which  are  the  pride  of  the  city,  he  is  yet  essentially 
an  artist  of  Venice,  since  he  spent  most  of  his  life  there, 
and  was  even  at  the  head  of  the  workshop  for  the  sculptors 
who  worked  upon  the  palace.  One  little  episode  in  the 
life  of  this  artist  was  an  expedition  to  Scutari  with  the 
Venetian  soldiers,  who  went  to  its  defence  against  the 
Turks.  Rizzo  showed  himself  so  brave  in  action,  and  was 
so  severely  wounded,  that  after  his  return  to  Venice  the  Sen- 
ate gave  him  a  pension  which  lasted  through  twenty  years. 
Rizzo  so  won  the  confidence  of  the  Venetians  that  he  was 
appointed  to  important  offices  with  large  salaries,  and  it  is 
sad  to  be  forced  to  add  that  he  proved  to  be  a  dishonest 
man,  and  when  his  accounts  were  examined  he  fled  to 
Foligno,  where  he  soon  died.  We  will  not  speak  of  him  as 
an  architect  ;  as  a  sculptor  he  is  known  by  statues  of  Adam 
and  Eve  in  niches  opposite  the  Giant's  Staircase  in  the 
Ducal  Palace,  and  by  sepulchral  monuments  in  the  Church 
of  the  Frari.  While  his  works  cannot  be  highly  praised  for 
beauty,  they  do  show  the  style  of  the  Renaissance  dis- 
tinctly. 

LoMBARDO  is  the  family  name  of  three  sculptors  of  this 
period  in  Venice.  They  were  PlETRO  and  his  two  sons, 
TULLIO  and  ANTONIO,  and  the  three  together  are  spoken 
of  as  the  Lombardi.  Pietro,  the  father,  was  as  much  an 
architect  as  a  sculptor,  and  the  works  of  the  father  and  son 
are  so  associated  that  it  is  difficult  to  speak  of  them  sepa- 
rately. We  know  that  Tullio  was  the  superior  artist  of  the 
three,  but  there  are  no  works  of  theirs  that  command  a  de- 
tailed description  here.     The  monument  to  the  Doge  Pietro 


LEOPARDO.  155 

Mocenieo,  in  the  Church  of  SS.  Giovanni  e  Paolo,  the 
angels  of  the  font  in  San  Martino,  an  altar-relief  in  the 
altar  of  San  Giovanni  Crisostomo,  reliefs  on  the  front  of  the 
Scuola  di  San  Marco,  and  two  reliefs  in  the  Church  of  San 
Antonio  at  Padua,  are  the  principal  sculptures  of  the  Lom- 

bardi. 

Alessandro  Leopardo,  who  flourished  about  1490, 
was  the  most  eminent  bronze-caster  of  his  time,  and  was 
distinguished  for  the  happy  manner  in  which  he  adapted 
classic  ideas  to  his  needs  in  his  works. 

Very  little  is  known  of  the  life  of  this  sculptor,  and  that 
little  is  not  to  his  credit.  He  lived  in  Venice,  and  had  a 
studio  in  the  Piazza  del  Cavallo,  and  in  1487  committed  a 
forgery,  for  which  he  was  banished  from  the  city.  But 
when  Verocchio  died,  leaving  the  Colleoni  statue  unfinished, 
the  Senate  desired  to  have  it  completed  by  Leopardo,  so 
they  sent  him  a  safe-conduct  for  six  months,  and  he  re- 
turned to  Venice.  As  there  is  no  account  of  his  again  leav- 
ing the  city,  it  is  supposed  that  he  was  allowed  to  remain 
as  long  as  he  chose.  There  has  been  much  difference  of 
opinion  as  to  which  artist — Verocchio  or  Leopardo— should 
be  credited  with  the  excellence  of  the  Colleoni  statue. 
The  truth,  as  near  as  it  can  be  told,  seems  to  be  that  Veroc- 
chio designed  and  modelled  it,  that  Leopardo  completed 
and  cast  it,  and  made  the  lofty  pedestal  upon  which  it 
stands,  and  which,  taken  by  itself,  is  a  splendid  work.  It 
is  of  fine  proportions,  and  has  six  Corinthian  columns,  in  the 
capitals  of  which  there  are  dolphins,  while  the  frieze  is 
composed  of  trophies  and  marine  animals,  all  of  which  are 
symbols  of  the  City  on  the  Sea  which  erected  the  monu- 
ment. 

After  the  Colleoni  statue  was  unveiled  the  Senate  gave 
Leopardo  an  order  for  three  standard  bases  of  bronze  to  be 
placed  in  the  Piazza  of  St.  Mark's.  He  also  made  three 
splendid  candelabra  for  the  Venetian  Academy.      Leopardo 


156 


SCULPTURE. 


was  also  an  architect.  The  time  of  his  death  is  very  uncer- 
tain, but  a  writer  speaks  of  him  in  1541  as  "  the  new  glory 
of  our  age,  who  shines  like  a  star  in  the  Venetian  waters." 
Although  an  immense  amount  of  sculpture  of  this  period 
remains  in  various  parts  of  Italy,  it  is  very  difficult  to  trace 
the  story  of  separate  artists  and  to  give  a  satisfactory  ac- 
count of  those  whose  works  are  worthy  of  high  praise. 
There  is  scarcely  an  Italian  city  of  any  size  which  has  not 
some  splendid  remains  of  this  morning  of  the  Renaissance. 
In  Ancona  there  are  the  portal  of  San  Francesco  and  the 


Figs.  89,  90. — Terra-cottas  from  the  Ospedale  Grande.     Milan. 


front  of  Mercanzia,  with  which  the  name  of  Giorgio  da 
Sebenico  is  associated.  At  Rimini  the  Church  of  San 
Francesco,  with  its  wealth  of  plastic  ornament,  cannot  be 
ascribed  to  any  one  artist  or  to  any  number  with  surety  ;  it 
is  in  the  style  of  Luca  della  Robbia  and  Donatello,  but  in 
the  execution  does  not  reach  their  standard.  In  Cesena, 
Padua,  and  Verona  there  are  fifteenth-century  sculptures, 
and  in  the  Milanese  territory  the  plastic  art  of  this  period  is 
very  interesting. 

In  Milan,  in  the  Church  of  Santa  Maria  delle  Grazie,  in 


OMODEO.  157 

the  Ospedale  Grande,  and  in  the  cathedral  there  is  a  wealth 
of  sculpture  to  reward  the  student  of  this  art  who  visits 
them  ;  and  in  the  Museum  of  the  Breda  there  are  many 
interesting  works.  The  terra-cotta  decoration  of  the  Ospe- 
dale excels  all  other  works  of  this  sort  in  upper  Italy,  and 
the  immense  facade  of  this  edifice  is  a  marvel  in  its  way 
(Figs.  89,  90).  The  differences  between  this  hospital  and 
the'^wonderful  Milan  Cathedral  afiford  a  remarkable  contrast 
in  works  of  the  same  period. 

Giovanni  Antonio  Amadeo,  or  Omodeo  (1447-1520), 
was  born  on  a  farm  near  the  Certosa  of  Pavia.     When  but 
nineteen  years  old  his  name  appears  as  one  of  those  who 
were  employed  upon  this  splendid  edifice,  and  the  records 
of  his  payments  show  that  his  work  was  well  considered, 
even  then.      Omodeo  was  undoubtedly  the  best  sculptor  of 
his  time  in  all  Lombardy,  and  his  sculptures  in  the  Colleoni 
Chapel  at  Bergamo  would  be  sufificient  to  make  any  artist 
famous.     The  whole  work  may   be   called   his,  for  he  de- 
signed  the  building  and  the  sculptures  of  the  facade,  which 
are  in  the  richest  style  of  the  Renaissance  ;  there  are  statu- 
ettes,   colonettes,    busts,    medallions,  and   bas-reliefs,    and 
wherever  a   flat   surface  exists  it  is  divided  into  diamond- 
shaped  slabs  of  colored  marbles.     The  portal  is  very  much 
ornamented  :  on  each  side  of  the  rose  window  above  this 
entrance  there  are  busts  of  Caesar  and  Augustus  in  contrast 
with  numbers   of  angels'    heads   not  far  away.     There  are 
bas-reliefs   representing  children  playing  upon  musical  m- 
struments,   and    the    whole    front    of   the    chapel,   with   its 
numerous  pilasters  and  colonettes,  has  been  compared  to  a 
gigantic  organ,  by  Mr.  Perkins,  in  his  "  Italian  Sculptors.'' 
Of  the   interior  decoration  we  can   only  say  that  it  is 
much  in  Omodeo's    style,  though    the  monument  to  Col- 
leoni, the  founder  of  the  chapel,  is  said  to  be  the  work  of 
German  sculptors,  and  to  have  been  done  after  Omodeo  left 
Bergamo. 


158  SCULPTURE. 

At  Pavia,Omodeo  succeeded  Guiniforte  as  chief  architect 
of  the  Certosa,  and  designed  the  fagade,  which  was  made 
by  him  and  his  successors.  The  bas-relief  of  the  Deposi- 
tion from  the  Cross,  which  is  on  the  front  of  the  high-altar 
here,  is  the  work  of  Omodeo.  At  Cremona  and  at  Isola 
Bella  he  executed  some  monuments,  but  at  length,  in  1490, 
he  began  his  work  on  the  Cathedral  of  Milan.  Here  a 
cupola  was  commenced  after  his  model  and  under  his  direc- 
tion ;  but  when  it  was  partly  done  doubts  of  its  solidity 
were  expressed,  and  Omodeo  was  commanded  to  leave  it 
and  design  the  north  door  to  the  cathedral.  He  also  con- 
structed the  spiral  staircase  leading  to  the  roof  through  an 
elegant  Gothic  turret,  where  the  medallion  portrait  of 
Omodeo  may  be  seen.  It  has  since  been  proved  that  the 
cupola  of  Omodeo  was  solid  enough,  for  it  has  sustained 
the  spire  which  was  put  upon  it  in  1772  ;  but  he  was  tor- 
mented concerning  it  in  many  ways,  and  died  without  justi- 
fication. 

Omodeo  stands  at  the  head  of  northern  Italian  sculptors 
in  his  dexterous  use  of  his  chisel  ;  his  ease  in  composition 
and  his  skill  in  the  management  of  drapery  would  have 
made  him  eminent  ;  but  the  effect  of  all  these  good  qualities 
was  injured  by  his  mannerism,  and  the  fact  that  his  stand- 
ard of  beauty  was  not  a  high  one.  This  may  be  partly  ac- 
counted for  by  the  fact  that  in  Lombardy  an  artist  had  no 
opportunity  to  study  the  remains  of  classic  art,  and  this 
one  circumstance  very  largely  excuses  the  inferiority  of  the 
northern  sculptors  to  those  of  Tuscany,  whose  taste  had 
been  much  improved  by  close  study  of  ancient  plastic  art. 

There  are  many  sculptors  mentioned  as  having  done 
some  part  of  the  work  upon  the  Milan  Cathedral,  but  very 
few  are  known,  except  by  casual  remark.  Cristoforo 
SOLARI,  called  "  II  Gobbo,  or  DEL  GOBBO,"  was  one  of 
the  most  prominent,  and  yet  we  know  almost  nothing  of  his 
history  until,  in  1490,  he  was  so  disappointed  when  Omo- 


RODART.  1 59 

deo  was  made  architect  of  the  cathedral  instead  of  himself 
that  he  went  to  Venice,  and  remained  there  during  several 

years. 

After  a  time   Solari   was  appointed   ducal    sculptor   to 
Ludovico  Moro,  and  the  monument   which   he  erected  to 
Beatrice   d'Este    was   one   of   his   principal    works.     When 
Ludovico  lost  his  power  Solari  went  to  Rome,  and  remained 
until  he  was  recalled  to  Milan  to  execute  sculptures  for  the 
cathedral.      He    was   very    independent    in    his  reply,    and 
refused  to  go  unless  his  conditions  were   complied  with  ; 
one  of  these  conditions  was  that  he  should  not  be  under  the 
direction  of  any  one,  but  should  select  his  marbles  and  his 
subjects  to  please  himself.     The  statues  he  made  are  not  as 
fine  as  we  might  expect  them  to  be  after  this  beginning  ; 
however,  he  was  at  length  appointed  head  architect.      Soon 
after  this  he  was  engaged   in   making  a  new  model  for  a 
cupola,  and  then  suddenly  his  name  ceases  to  appear  upon 

the  registers. 

The  Cathedral  of  Como  is  another  of  those  vast  edifices 
which  afforded  opportunities  for  artists  to  make  themselves 
famous.  The  principal  part  of  the  fagade  to  this  cathedral 
was  ornamented  by  ToMMASO  and  JacoPO  Rodari.  The 
first  was  at  one  time  architect  of  the  cathedral,  and  together 
they  executed  a  large  portion  of  the  sculptures.  Their  best 
work  was  in  the  ornamental  parts. 

In  the  southern  parts  of  Italy,  both  in  the  states  of  the 
Church  and  in  Naples,  there  are  many  works  of  the  fifteenth 
century  which  were  executed  by  artists  from  Florence  and 
other  parts  of  Italy.  Thus  there  is  nothing  new  to  be  said 
concerning  sculpture  in  Southern  Italy  during  this  period, 
since  the  works  which  are  not  by  foreign  artists  are  in  the 
same  style  as  theirs  ;  for  the  native  sculptors  copied  those 
from  Central  and  Northern  Italy,  and  no  great  progress  or 
original  manner  can  be  found  in  these  southern  districts. 


CHAPTER    VI. 


SCULPTURE    IN    GERMANY,  FRANCE,  ENGLAND,  AND    SPAIN, 

FROM    1450   TO    1550. 

IN  Italy,  as  we  have  seen,  the  sculpture  of  the  Renais- 
sance was  much  advanced  by  the  fact  that  in  the  be- 
ginning of  its  growth  the  architecture  of  the  country  was 
largely  an  imitation  of  Greek  architecture  ;  and  as  the  same 
artist  was  frequently  an  architect,  sculptor,  and  painter,  edi- 
fices were  designed  with  the  purpose  of  placing  the  works 
of  the  sculptor  in  the  most  favorable  positions. 

In  the  countries  north  of  Italy  sculpture  had  no  such  aid 
or  advantages.  The  Gothic  style  of  architecture  was  a  hin- 
drance to  the  sculptor,  whose  works  were  combined  with  it. 
The  Gothic  construction  afforded  no  broad,  generous  spaces 
for  sculpture  ;  all  plastic  work  must  be  confined  in  limited 
spaces  between  columns  and  baldachins,  or  in  arched 
niches,  or  between  narrow  flutings  ;  and  though  something 
had  been  done  to  vary  the  upright  stiffness  of  the  statues 
of  its  earliest  days,  there  was  no  freedom  for  the  realistic 
and  natural  tendencies  of  the  Renaissance  art  to  develop  in. 

Another  advantage  on  the  side  of  Italian  art  was  the 
fact  that  Italy  was  a  land  of  grace  and  beauty  ;  its  people 
were  more  refined  in  manner,  more  elegant  and  picturesque 
in  their  costumes  than  were  those  of  Northern  Europe,  and 
all  the  influences  surrounding  the  Italian  artist  were  far 
more  favorable  to  a  development  of  his  artistic  nature  than 
were  those  of  France  or  Germany.      Then,  too,  the  remains 


GERMANY.  l6l 

of  antique  art  which  were  within  reach  of  the  Itahan 
sculptor  were  quite  shut  off  from  others.  For  all  these  and 
other  reasons  the  sculpture  of  the  north  was  more  tardy  in 
taking  on  the  better  spirit  and  form  of  the  Renaissance,  and 
as  a  whole  it  never  became  as  pleasing  to  most  people  as 
was  the  sculpture  of  Italy. 

In  a  former  chapter  we  have  spoken  of  the  sculptor 
Claux  Sluter  and  his  work  at  Dijon  in  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury ;  the  desire  which  he  showed  to  make  his  figures  like 
the  men  they  represented,  and  a  general  study  of  nature 
rather  than  of  older  works  of  sculpture,  had  much  effect 
upon  the  sculpture  of  his  time,  and  gradually  became  much 
exaggerated.  German  sculptors  tried  not  only  to  make 
exact  portraits  of  the  faces  and  heads  of  their  figures,  but 
they  gave  the  same  attention  to  imitating  every  detail  of 
costume  and  every  personal  peculiarity  of  the  model  from 
which  they  worked.  This  tended  to  weaken  and  narrow 
their  own  designs,  and  the  whole  effect  of  their  work  is 
fantastic  and  exaggerated — an  effect  quite  opposed  to  the 
noble  and  harmonious  treatment  of  the  whole  which  the 
best  Italian  masters  strove  to  attain. 

The  attempt  to  produce  startling  effects  in  German  art 
made  such  subjects  as  the  Passion  of  Christ,  the  Tempta- 
tion of  St.  Anthony,  and  the  Martyrdoms  of  the  Saints  to 
be  constantly  repeated,  and  many  reliefs  are  overloaded 
with  such  details  as  may  very  properly  be  used  in  painting, 
and  which  belong  to  picturesque  art,  but  which  take  away 
the  dignity  and  calm  grandeur  which  should  make  the  spirit 
of  sculpture.  But  there  is  one  feature  of  German  sculpture 
at  this  time  which  appeals  to  our  sympathy — that  is,  the 
deep,  earnest  feeling  which  pervades  it,  and  which  con- 
stantly tried  new  methods  of  expression. 

In  Germany  there  were  guilds  or  trade-associations,  and 
the  members  of  these  guilds  were  allowed  to  work  in  the 
special  branch  only  of  sculpture  which  belonged  to  their 


1 62  SCULPTURE. 

company,  so  that  this  art  was  divided  by  more  fixed  lines 
than  in  Italy,  where,  in  truth,  at  the  period  of  which  we 
speak,  the  Florentine  school  was  a  supreme  power,  and  its 
sculptors,  as  we  have  seen,  worked  in  as  many  sorts  of 
sculpture  as  pleased  them. 

The  schools  of  Germany  were  far  more  independent  of 
each  other,  and  the  entire  organization  of  art  in  Germany 
was  very  different  from  that  of  Italy. 

One  of  the  most  prominent  effects  of  the  architecture  of 
Germany  was  to  drive  the  sculptors  to  seek  for  such  work 
as  had  no  relation  to  architecture,  and  an  important  result 
from  this  was  the  great  attention  which  they  paid  to  wood- 
carving  ;  indeed,  this  was  the  favorite  pursuit  of  the  Ger- 
man sculptors  for  many  years.  About  the  middle  of  the 
fifteenth  century  the  importance  of  this  art  in  Germany  was 
far  greater  than  those  of  bronze-casting  or  stone  sculpture. 

The  principal  works  in  wood-carving  were  the  altars, 
which  finally  came  to  be  colossal  in  size,  and  with  their 
multitude  of  reliefs,  statuettes,  and  ornaments  were  marvel- 
lous monuments  to  the  industry  and  skill  of  the  wood- 
carvers.  The  reliefs  in  these  works  are  usually  arranged  on 
landscape  backgrounds,  and  so  much  resemble  pictures  in 
many  ways  that  the  colors  and  gilding  which  were  freely 
used  on  them  do  not  seem  out  of  place,  and  it  appears  to 
be  quite  natural  that  wood-carvers  should  often  have  been 
painters  also. 

The  Swabian  school,  the  principal  seat  of  which  was 
Ulm,  was  the  earliest  to  adopt  the  new,  realistic  style. 
There  are  works  by  Swabian  artists  which  show  this  ten- 
dency as  early  as  143 1.  JoRG  Syrlix,  who  flourished  dur- 
ing the  last  half  of  the  fifteenth  century,  was  an  eminent 
wood-carver,  and  as  he  did  not  color  his  works  he  can  be 
better  judged  as  a  sculptor  than  he  could  be  if  the  effect  of 
the  whole  depended  partly  upon  painting.  The  choir-stalls 
in  the  Cathedral  of  Ulm   and   the  fountain  in  the  market- 


THE   SWABIAN   SCHOOL.  163 

place,  called  '*  Fischkasten,"  are  his  most  important  works  ; 
but  a  singing-desk,  now  in  the  museum,  and  other  lesser 
pieces  are  also  excellent  examples  of  his  style.  The  choir- 
stalls  have  an  immense  number  of  figures  and  a  mass  of 
ornament,  which  made  them  far  richer  than  any  such  work 
of  an  earlier  date,  and  none  that  have  since  been  made 
have  equalled  them.  It  is  almost  incredible  that  they  were 
completed  in  four  years,  and  yet  there  are  no  marks  of 
haste  upon  the  work.  The  figures  are  dignified  and  grace- 
ful, the  faces  delicate  and  expressive,  the  hands  well 
formed,  and  a  beauty  of  design  and  execution  marks  the 
whole.  The  lower  figures,  which  come  nearest  the  eye,  are 
finer  than  those  which  are  higher  up,  so  that  a  unity  of 
effect  is  preserved  throughout  the  whole.  He  sometimes 
took  occasion  to  give  touches  of  humor  in  his  works,  and  in 
these  stalls  he  introduced  his  own  portrait  and  that  of  his 
wife. 

The  "  Fischkasten"  is  sculptured  in  stone,  and  has  three 
knights  upon  it  which  appear  to  be  boldly  advancing,  as  if 
about  to  step  off  and  walk  away.  Other  works  by  this 
master  are  less  important,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  all  that  are 
called  by  his  name  are  really  his  own.  Jorg  Syrlin,  the 
younger,  trained  by  his  father,  adopted  his  style,  and  be- 
came an  excellent  artist. 

We  have  not  space  to  speak  of  the  Swabian  sculptures 
in  detail.  Fine  works  exist  in  Tiefenbronn,  Rothenburg, 
Blaubeuren,  Herrenberg,  Gmiind,  Ravensburg,  and  many 
other  places. 

The  influence  of  the  Swabian  school  was  very  wide  ;  it 
can  be  traced  in  many  parts  of  Germany,  in  Hungary  and 
Transylvania,  and  even  in  Switzerland,  Austria,  and  Bavaria. 
Swabian  artists  were  often  summoned  to  adjacent  provinces, 
and  thus  did  much  work  away  from  their  homes.  The 
reliefs  upon  the  door  of  the  Cathedral  of  Constance  w^ere 
executed  by  Simon  Hayder,  a  Swabian,  in  1470.     The  altar 


164  SCULPTURE. 

of  the  cathedral  at  Chur  was  the  work  of  Jacob  Rosch, 
another  Swabian  master,  who  thus  labored  on  the  very- 
boundary  of  Italy.  The  school  at  Augsburg  was  the  sec- 
ond Swabian  school  in  importance,  and  much  influence 
went  out  from  that  centre,  though  its  sculptures  were  not 
as  fine  as  those  of  Ulm. 

In  some  cases  fine  old  sculptures  still  exist  in  the 
churches  and  other  places  for  which  they  were  intended. 
Again  we  find  them  either  whole,  or  in  parts,  in  museums 
to  which  they  have  been  removed  when  they  were  no 
longer  required  for  the  uses  for  which  they  were  made,  or 
when  they  were  replaced  by  more  modern  works.  So  few 
facts  are  known  concerning  them  that  it  is  almost  impossi- 
ble to  do  more  than  repeat  descriptions  of  the  subjects 
they  represent  ;  and  this  is  neither  profitable  nor  entertain- 
ing in  a  book  of  this  kind  ;  therefore  I  shall  now  speak  only 
of  such  artists  as  have  left  some  record  behind  them,  and  of 
works  whose  authorship  can  be  given. 

Veit  Stoss,  who  flourished  about  the  middle  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  was  an  eminent  wood-carver.  Very  little 
is  known  about  him.  His  name  is  sometimes  said  to  be 
Wit  Stwosz,  and  Cracow  and  Nuremberg  both  claim  to 
have  been  his  birthplace.  But  it  is  now  believed  that 
he  was  born  in  Nuremberg,  as  it  is  known  that  in  1477  he 
gave  up  his  citizenship  there  and  went  to  Cracow,  and  in 
1496  he  paid  a  small  sum  to  be  again  made  a  citizen  of 
Nuremberg. 

We  also  know  that  his  reputation  as  a  man  was  not 
good.  In  a  Nuremberg  decree  he  is  called  a  "  reckless  and 
graceless  citizen,  who  has  caused  much  uneasiness  to  the 
honorable  council  and  the  whole  town. "  He  was  convicted 
of  crimes  for  which  he  should  have  suffered  death,  but  the 
sentence  was  changed,  and  he  was  branded  :  both  cheeks 
were  pierced  with  a  hot  iron.  After  this  he  broke  the  oath 
he  had  taken  to  the  city,  and  joined  her  enemies  in  plotting 


VEIT   STOSS.  165 

against  her  ;  he  was  subsequently   imprisoned,  and  at  his 
death,  in  1533,  he  was  very  old  and  perfectly  blind. 

It 'seems   almost  like   a  contradiction   to  say  that  this 
master   was  one  of  the   most   tender  in   feeling  of  all  the 
wood-carvers  of  his  time.     He  was  especially  successful  in 
representing  the   purity   of  the   Madonna  and  of  youthful 
saints.      His  principal  works  are  in  the  churches  of  Cracow 
and  Nuremberg.     In  the  Frauenkirche  at  Cracow  the  high- 
altar,   a   part  of   the  stalls  in  the  choir,  and  some  other 
sculptures  are  his.     In  Nuremberg  his  best  works  are  a  bas- 
relief  of  the  Crowning  of  the  Virgin,  which  is  preserved  m 
the   Burgkapelle  ;    the    great    Madonna   statue,  which    was 
placed    in    the    Frauenkirche    in    1504;    and    the    colossal 
Angel's  Salutation,  which   is  suspended  in  the  choir  of  the 
Church  of  St.  Laurence.     This  last  'is  an  unusual  and  im- 
portant   work.     The    angel    appears    as   if   flying,    and  the 
drapery  is  much  inflated  ;  the  Virgin  is  queenly  and  majes- 
tic,  yet  graceful  ;  all  around   are  medallions  in  which  are 
represented  the  Seven  Sorrows  of  the  Virgin.     The  style  of 
these  reliefs  is  charming  if  we  except  the  drapery  ;  that  has 
the  faults  of  the  time,  and  is  bad  in  style  ;  but  the  female 
heads  are  all  that  we  could  ask  ;  the  whole  design  is  dis- 
tinct, and  few  reliefs  could  surpass  these  in  simple  beauty 
and  genuine  artistic  feeling. 

Another  remarkable  work  of  his  is  a  panel  of  roses,  now 
in  the  Burgkapelle.  The  panel  is  seven  feet  high  by  five 
wide  ;  more  than  half  of  this  is  covered  by  a  wreath  of 
roses;  there  are  besides  four  rows  of  small  half-length 
figures  arranged  round  a  cross  of  St.  Anthony,  a  representa- 
tion of  the  Last  Judgment,  scenes  in  the  history  of  man 
from  the  creation  to  the  death  of  the  Virgin,  and  many 
other  saints  and  like  subjects  in  bits  of  reliefs,  which  fill  up 
all  spare  spaces.  The  style  is  very  distinct,  and  the  dra- 
peries  better  in  this  work  than  in  others  from  his  hand. 
There  are  other  works   in    Nuremberg   and  elsewhere 


l66  SCULPTURE. 

which  are  attributed  to  Veit  Stoss,  but  these  that  are 
known  to  be  his  are  quite  enough  to  establish  his  fame  as  a 
gifted  artist  and  a  remarkable  sculptor  for  his  time. 

Though  Stoss  is  among  the  early  masters  of  Nuremberg, 
it  is  yet  true  that  others  had  been  at  work  while  he  was  in 
Cracow,  and  the  way  had  been  prepared  for  him  and  his 
work  when  he  returned  to  his  native  city  in  1496.  Among 
the  most  active  artists  in  Nuremberg  was  Michael  WOHL- 
GEMUTH (1434-15 19),  who  is  generally  considered  as  a 
painter  only  ;  but  we  know  that  he  made  contracts  for 
entire  works  in  which  sculpture  and  painting  are  combined, 
and  must  have  had  the  oversight  of  the  whole  ;  and  in  this 
view  it  is  proper  to  mention  this  master's  name.  The 
altars  at  Haller  Cross  Chapel,  Nuremberg,  one  at  Zwickau, 
another  at  Schwabach,  and  that  of  the  Heilsbronn  Monas- 
tery, near  Nuremberg,  are  all  ascribed  to  Wohlgemuth. 

Albrecht  Durer  (1471-1 528),  who  was  one  of  the  great 
masters  of  the  world,  was  an  architect,  painter,  and  sculptor. 
He  was  a  pupil  of  Michael  Wohlgemuth,  and  sculpture  was 
less  practised  by  him  than  other  arts  ;  yet  the  few  works  of 
his  which  remain  are  much  valued. 

Diirer  probably  executed  his  carvings  about  1 5 10-1520. 
In  the  British  Museum  there  is  a  relief  of  the  Birth  of 
St.  John  the  Baptist,  which  was  purchased  in  the  Nether- 
lands more  than  eighty  years  since  for  $2500.  It  is  cut  in 
a  block  of  cream-colored  stone,  seven  and  one  half  by  five 
and  one  half  inches  in  size,  and  is  a  wonderful  work.  The 
companion  piece,  which  represents  the  same  saint  Preach- 
ing in  the  Wilderness,  is  in  the  Brunswick  Museum,  where 
there  is  also  an  "  Ecce  Homo"  carved  in  wood. 

Diirer  executed  many  little  carvings  in  stone,  ivory,  and 
boxwood,  and  the  existing  ones  are  seen  in  various  collec- 
tions in  Germany.  It  is  quite  probable  that  others  are  in 
private  hands. 

There  are   in   Nuremberg  many  most   excellent   wood- 


ADAM   KRAFFT.  167 

•carvings  by  unknown  masters  ;  one  who  cares  for  this  art  is 
well  repaid  for  a  visit  to  this  old  city,  and,  indeed,  this  is 
true  of  other  old  German  towns.  Bamberg,  Marburg, 
Frankfort-on-the-Main,  Dortmund,  Halle,  and  many  other 
towns  have  riches  in  this  kind  of  art. 

The  stone  sculpture  of  Germany  in  the  fifteenth  century 
was  of  less  importance  than  the  wood-carving  until  toward 
the  close  of  the  period.  The  exteriors  of  the  churches  and 
other  edifices  erected  at  this  time  had  but  little  sculptural 
ornament,  and  that  consisted  principally  of  traceries  and 
figures  in  geometric  designs.  Some  small  detached  works, 
•such  as  fonts,  pulpits,  or  fountains,  were  made  in  stone,  but 
the  chief  use  of  stone  sculpture  was  for  monuments  to  the 
dead. 

Adam  Krafft  (about  1430-1507),  of  whose  early  history 
almost  nothing  is  known,  is  a  very  important  master  of  this 
time,  and  his  principal  works  add  another  charm  to  the  city 
of  Nuremberg.  A  remarkable  series  of  works  by  Krafft  are 
the  Seven  Stages,  or  seven  bas-reliefs  placed  on  the  way  to 
the  Johannis  Cemetery,  the  designs  representing  the  seven 
falls  of  Christ  on  his  way  to  Golgotha. 

These  reliefs  are  much  crowded,  and  the  only  part  that 
is  at  all  idealized  is  the  figure  of  Christ  ;  that  is  noble  and 
calm  in  effect,  and  the  drapery  is  simple  and  dignified. 
The  other  figures  are  coarse  and  dressed  like  the  Nurem- 
Mergers  of  the  time  in  which  Krafft  lived. 

In  the  churches  of  St.  Sebald  and  St.  Laurence  and  in 
the  Frauenkirche  there  are  other  splendid  works  of  Krafft, 
and  in  some  dwelling-houses  of  Nuremberg  there  are 
sculptures  of  his.  A  Madonna  on  the  houses,  1306,  in  the 
Hirschelgasse,  is  one  of  the  finest,  perhaps  the  very  best  in 
all  Germany.  We  do  not  know  whether  this  was  by  Krafft 
or  not,  but  it  has  a  purity  and  nobleness  that  scarcely  any 
other  German  sculptor  attained. 

That   Krafft  had   a  sense  of  humor  is  shown  by  a  bas- 


1 68  SCULPTURE. 

relief  above  the  entrance  to  the  Public  Scales.  The  weigher 
stands  observing  the  beam,  and  beneath  it  is  written,  "  To 
thyself  as  to  others."  Another  man  adds  a  weight  to  one 
scale,  and  the  man  who  is  to  be  taxed  puts  his  hand  into 
his  money-bag  very  reluctantly. 

Perhaps  his  most  artistic  work  was  the  tabernacle  in  the 
Church  of  St.  Laurence.  It  is  sixty-four  feet  high  ;  the 
lower  part  is  supported  by  the  kneeling  figures  of  Krafft 
and  two  of  his  associates.  Above  this  rises  a  slender  Gothic 
pyramid  ornamented  with  bas-reliefs  and  statuettes.  He 
was  employed  upon  this  tabernacle  from  1496  to  1500.  It 
is  believed  that  a  "  Burial  of  Christ,"  in  the  chapel  of  the 
Johannis  Cemetery,  was  his  latest  work,  and  executed  in 
1507,  the  year  in  which  he  died,  in  the  hospital  of  Schwa- 
bach.  Krafft  led  a  most  industrious  life,  and  was  so  skilful 
a  workman  that  he  could  work  with  his  left  hand  as  readily 
as  with  his  right. 

TiLMAN  RiEMENSCHNEIDER  was  an  important  sculptor, 
born  at  Osterode,  in  the  Hartz  Mountains,  probably  about 
1460.  In  1483  he  went  to  Wiirzburg,  and  was  elected  to 
one  honorable  office  after  another,  until,  in  1520,  he  was 
head  burgomaster.  After  the  Peasants'  War,  in  1525,  he 
was  deprived  of  his  office  ;  he  lived  but  six  years  after  this, 
and  kept  himself  in  close  retirement,  not  even  practising 
his  art. 

His  sculptures  are  mostly  in  stone,  and  are  quite  numer- 
ous in  Wiirzburg  and  its  vicinity.  His  monument  to  the 
Knight  Eberhard  von  Grumbach,  in  the  church  at  Rimpar, 
was  probably  his  earliest  important  work.  In  it  he  has 
contrived  to  express  strength  and  bravery  of  character  in. 
spite  of  the  stiff  costume,  every  detail  of  which  is  worked 
out  (Fig.  91). 

In  1495  Riemenschneider  received  the  important  com- 
mission to  erect  in  Bamberg  Cathedral  a  splendid  monu- 
ment to  the  Emperor  Heinrich  II.  and  his  wife  Kunigunde.. 


Pig.  91.— Count  Eberhard  von  Grumbach.     Rimpar, 


170 


SCULPTURE. 


This  occupied  him  until  15 13,  and  is  a  splendid  example  of 
his  skill.  The  figures  of  the  two  royal  personages  lie  upon 
a  large  sarcophagus  ;  the  statues  are  more  than  life-size,  and 
are  dressed  in  the  fantastic  costume  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tur>'.  Upon  the  sides  of  the  sarcophagus  are  five  reliefs, 
representing  as  many  scenes  from  the  lives  of  the  emperor 
and  empress.  The  monuments  and  religious  subjects  ex- 
■ecuted  by  this  sculptor  are  very  numerous.  In  the  church 
.at  Maidbrunn  there  is  a  relief  representing  the  "  Lamenta- 
tion over  the  Dead  Body  of  Christ,"  which  is  probably  his 
latest  work.  It  is  cut  from  sandstone,  and  the  figure  of 
Nicodemus  is  believed  to  be  the  sculptor's  own  portrait. 

We  give  here  four  figures  from  the  portal  of  the  cathe- 
dral at  Berne,  in  Switzerland.  The  really  splendid  sculp- 
tures were  the  work  of  Nicolaus  Kunz,  and  from  their  style 
seem  to  belong  to  about  1520.      They  show  the  influence  of 


Fig.  92. — Justice. 


Fig.  93.— The  Three  Wise  Virgins. 


such  artists  as  the  painters  Nicolaus  Manuel  (1484-1531)  and 
Hans  Holbein  (about  1459-1524).  The  statues  of  the  Wise 
and    Foolish   Virf^ins   are    fine,  and    that   of   Justice,  whose 


PETER  VISCHER.  ^7^ 

pose  is  full  of  grace,  and  whose  almost  transparent  garment 
is  an  exquisite  work,  affords  an  excellent  illustration  of  the 
most  pleasing  sculpture  of  this  period  (Figs.  92,  93^. 

Another  art,  which  had  its  headquarters  at  Nuremberg 
in  the  fifteenth  century,  is  bronze-casting,  and  its  chief 
master  was  the  famous  Peter  Vischer,  who  was  the  son 
of  another  brasier,  HERMANN  ViSCHER.  The  date  of  Peter 
Vischer's  birth  is  given  as  1460,  and  he  was  admitted  to  be 
a  master  in  his  art  in  1489.  Five  years  later  than  this  he 
was  summoned  to  Heidelberg  together  with  a  sculptor, 
Simon  Lamberger,  to  aid  the  Elector  Philip  with  advice 
and   skill.      Nothing   is   known   of  any  work  which  Vischer 

did  there. 

Vischer's  foundry  at  Nuremberg  enjoyed  a  great  fame, 
and  orders  were  sent  to  it  from  far  and  near.     No  doubt  a 
great  many  monuments  were  cast  here  which  were  not  de- 
signed by  Vischer  at  all      His  works  were  numerous,  but  I 
shall  only  describe  his  masterpiece,  which  was  the  shrine  or 
tomb  of  St.  Sebald,  and  occupied  Peter  Vischer  from  1508 
to  1 5 19,  he  being  assisted  by  his  five  sons.     The  son  Peter 
was 'admitted   as   a  master  in   the  thimble  trade  in  1527. 
Hans  was  called  "  the  caster,"  and  seems  to  have  superin- 
tended the  carving  of  models  ;   Hermann  went  to  Italy  and 
brought  home  designs  and   models  ;  and   Jacob  and  Paul 
seem  to  have  had   no  special  departments.     Between  1495 
and    1508   so   little   was  recorded   of   Peter  Vischer  that  it 
leads  to  the  belief  that  these  years  must  have  been  given  to 
study  and  to  the  improvement  which  the  tomb  of  St.  Sebald 
shows  over  the  work  of  the  monument  to  Archbishop  Ernst, 
in  the  Magdeburg  Cathedral,  which  was  done  in  1495- 

The  bones  of  St.  Sebald  had  been  inclosed  in  a  sar- 
cophagus of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  the  work  required  of 
Vischer  was  a  fitting  tomb  for  such  precious  and  honored 
relics  for  St.  Sebald  is  the  special  patron  saint  of  Nurem- 
berg 'and  dwelt  in  a  cell  near  that  city.      His  legend  relates 


1/2 


SCULPTURE. 


that  he  was  the  son  of  a  Danish  king,  who  came  to  Ger- 
many as  a  missionary  and  settled  at  Nuremberg,  where  he 
did  many  miraculous  works  of  charity.     On  one  occasion, 


Fig.  g4.— Tomb  of  St.  Sebald.     By  Peter  Vischer.     Nuremberg, 

during  very  cold  weather,  he  is  said  to  have  found  a  family 
nearly  frozen  and  without  fuel  ;  he  commanded  them  to 
bring  the   icicles  hanging  from  the  roof  and  make  a  fire  of 


PETER   VISCHER, 


173 


them.  They  obeyed,  and  were  thus  warmed.  Many  such 
wonders  are  told  of  him,  and  Vischer  in  his  statue  makes 
him  to  appear  as  a  pilgrim,  with  shell  in  hat,  staff,  rosary 
and  wallet,  while  in  his  hand  he  holds  a  model  of  a  church 
intended  to  represent  that  in  which  the  tomb  is  erected. 
This  Church  of  St.  Sebald  is  now  used  for  the  Lutheran  ser- 
vice, and  the  shrine  still  stands  in  the  centre  of  the  choir. 

(Fig-  94-) 

The  architecture  of  this  remarkable  work  is  of  the  richest 

style  of  Gothic,  and  the  whole  of  it  is  in  bronze,  except 
that  the  oaken  sarcophagus  is  encased  in  silver  plates. 
This  rests  beneath  a  fret-work  canopy  supported  on  slender 
pillars.  There  is  an  abundance  of  ornament  everywhere, 
but  the  close  examination  of  its  detail  shows  beauty  and 
fitness  in  every  part.  For  example,  if 
we  compare  the  statue  of  the  saint,  of 
which  we  have  spoken,  which  stands  at 
the  end  of  the  shrine  most  exposed,  with 
the  statue  of  Vischer  himself,  which  is  at 
the  opposite  end,  we  shall  see  how  the 
saint,  with  his  symbols  and  his  flowing 
drapery,  is  an  ideal  work,  and  seems  to 
be  advancing  with  authority  and  the  air 
which  befits  the  son  of  a  king,  while 
Vischer,  with  his  round  cap,  leather  apron, 
and  German  face,  is  simply  the  representa- 
tion of  a  worker  bent  upon  doing  his  best 

(Fig.  95). 

The    sarcophagus    rests    upon   a   base 

on  which  are  four  reliefs  of  scenes  from 
the   life   of   the   saint,    all   in   the    purest 
manner  of  the  time.     One  of  these  repre- 
sents the  burning  of  the  icicles  recounted  above  (Fig.  96). 
This  base  and  sarcophagus  and  the  fret-work  above  it 
form   the   centre   of  the   tomb.      Then   outside  of  this  are 


Fig,  95. — Peter 
Vischer's   Statue. 


174 


SCULPTURE. 


eight  pillars  supporting  a  baldachin,  or  canopy,  in  the  richly 
ornamented  Romanesque  style,  and  the  combinations  of  the 
Gothic  and  the  decorative  architecture  are  so  skilfully  made 
as  not  to  offend  our  taste.  But  it  is  generally  acknowledged 
that  the  chief  beauty  of  this  work  is  the  series  of  the  figures 
of  the  apostles,  which  are  upon  the  pillars.  They  are  slen- 
der in  proportion,  gracefully  draped,  and  bear  their  distinc- 
tive symbols.  They  are  perfectly  free  from  the  realism  of 
the  earlier  works  of  Vischer,  and  have  more  of  the  purity 


Fig.  96. — St.  Sebald  and  the  Burning  Icicles.      Vischer. 

and  nobleness  of  the  works  of  Ghiberti  than  are  seen  in  the 
statues  of  any  other  German  artist  of  this  age  (Figs.  97,  98). 
Above  the  apostles  are  figures  of  prophets  and  other 
Biblical  personages  ;  Perseus  and  Hercules  are  also  repre- 
sented, and  other  statues  typify  Strength,  Justice,  Pru- 
dence, and  Moderation.  The  figure  of  the  Infant  Christ  is 
upon  the  centre  of  the  highest,  or  middle  dome.  Between 
the  pillars  at  their  bases  stand  graceful  candelabra,  and  the 
base  itself  rests  upon  snails.  Besides  all  these  principal 
figures  there  are  almost  numberless  others  and  many  orna- 


PETER  VISCHER. 


I7S 


mental  designs.  There  are  harpies,  sirens,  satyrs,  fawns, 
and  all  sorts  of  fantastic  creatures.  The  whole  work  is  full 
of  the  deep  feeling  of  the  north  and  the  beauty  and  richness 
of  the  south,  and  is  a  most  remarkable  production. 

We  arc  told  that  Vischer  was  but  poorly  paid  for  this 
labor,  with  all  its  thought  and  skill.  He  inscribed  upon  it 
these  words  :  "...  He  completed  it  for  the  praise  of  God 
Almighty  alone,  and  for  the  honor  of  St.  Sebald,  Prince  of 
Heaven,  by  the  aid  of  pious  persons,  paid  by  their  volun- 
tary contributions."  There 
is  a  satisfaction  in  remem- 
bering that  Vischer  lived 
ten  years  after  this  tomb 
was  completed,  and  must 
have  heard  many  praises  of 
his  work. 

The  later  works  of  Vis- 
cher were  a  few  reliefs  and 
two  important  monuments 
at  Aschaffenburg  and  Wit- 
tenberg. His  sons  Hans 
and  Hermann  executed  a 
few  monuments,  which  are 
done  in  the  manner  of  their 
father,  but  do  not  equal 
him    in    design    or    finish. 

There  are  numerous  works  which  must  be  regarded  as  pro- 
ductions of  Vischer's  studio  and  foundry  of  which  we  can- 
not give  clear  accounts,  not  knowing  whether  they  were  the 
earlier  works  of  the  father,  or  were  executed  by  the  sons  or 
other  pupils,  of  which  he  had  many. 

Pankraz  Labenwolf  was  one  of  Vischer's  pupils, 
and  completed  the  splendid  lattice-work  over  the  Town-hall 
which  the  master  left  unfinished  ;  Labenwolf  added  some 
ornaments  and   coats- of-arms  to   it.      In    1550  he  cast  the 


Fig.  97.— Peter.         Fig.  98.— John. 
By  Peter  Vischer. 


176 


SCULPTURE. 


fountain  in  the  court-yard  of  the  same  building,  which  is  a 
graceful  and  creditable  work  ;  but  another  fountain  in  the 
vegetable  market,  behind  the  Frauenkirche,  is  truly  orig- 
inal ;  the  water  flows  from  the 
mouths  of  two  geese  held  under 
the  arms  of  a  peasant  ;  the  whole 
effect  is  droll  and  unique  (Fig. 
99). 

You  will  remember  how, 
about  1390,  Claux  Sluter,  by  his 
works  in  Dijon,  had  a  great  in- 
fluence upon  French  sculpture. 
A  century  and  more  later  this 
art  in  France  was  largely  under 
the  influence  of  Italian  masters, 
who  had  been  called  into  France 
by  Francis  I.  and  other  patrons 
of  art.  Splendid  works  of  sculp- 
ture were  also  imported  from 
Italy,  and  the  effect  of  the  Ital- 
ian Renaissance,  which  was  so 
plainly  seen  upon  the  painting 
of  France,  was  also  at  work 
upon  its  sculpture. 

Where  the  sculptures  were  a 
part  of  an  architectural  decoration,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
choir  screen  in  the  cathedral  at  Amiens,  and  other  like 
works,  the  change  was  not  as  complete  as  in  cases  where 
the  work  was  one  of  independent  sculpture,  as  in  monu- 
ments and  statues  to  commemorate  the  dead,  or  in  portrait 
sculpture. 

The  wealth  and  power  of  the  nobility  of  France  at  this 
period  enabled  them  to  gratify  their  desire  to  leave  fine 
monuments  of  themselves,  in  order  to  keep  their  names  in 
memory  in   future  centuries.      In  these  the  Italian  manner 


Fig.  99. — Man  and  Geese. 

By  Labewwolf. 


IN   FRANCE.  177 

was  adopted,  and  the  works  when  completed  were  far  more 
splendid  and  elegant  than  were  the  corresponding  works  in 
Germany.  But  they  have  a  grave  fault,  which  makes  them 
much  less  interesting  than  are  the  German  sculptures  :  they 
are  more  conventional,  less  expressive,  and  far  less  artistic 
in  spirit.  They  impress  one  as  if  the  soft,  luxurious  court 
atmosphere  had  passed  over  them,  and  taking  away  their 
strong  points,  had  left  them  only  a  general  air  of  being 
well-bred  and  well-kept  persons,  of  little  importance  to  the 
real  life  of  the  world. 

In  the  Louvre,  in  the  Museum  of  Modern  Sculpture,  all 
this  change  can  be  traced,  and  the  traveller  in  France  may 
see  such  monuments  as  we  refer  to  in  all  the  cathedrals  and 
most  of  the  churches  all  over  the  country.  Many  of  them 
cannot  be  traced  to  any  one  master.  A  fine  specimen  is 
the  Amboise  Monument  in  Rouen  Cathedral,  which  is  said 
to  have  been  the  work  of  one  Roulland  de  Roux  and  his 
assistants. 

Jean  Juste  of  Tours  was  one  of  the  best  French  artists 
of  his  day.  In  the  Cathedral  of  Tours  is  a  monument  to 
two  young  children  of  Charles  VIII.,  which  proves  him  to 
have  had  much  delicacy  and  tenderness  of  execution.  The 
sarcophagus  is  covered  with  graceful  designs,  and  on  the  lid 
lie  the  two  babies,  for  the  eldest  was  but  three  years  old. 
The  whole  work  is  exquisite,  and  gives  one  a  feeling  of 
satisfaction. 

About  1530  Juste  erected  the  splendid  monument  to 
Louis  XII.  and  Anne  of  Brittany  in  the  Church  of 
St.  Denis.  While  the  general  form  of  the  monument  is 
much  like  that  of  the  Visconti  in  the  Certosa  at  Pavia,  the 
figures  of  the  dead  couple  are  quite  different  from  the  Ital- 
ian manner.  Below  on  a  bier  the  two  nude  bodies  are 
stretched  in  all  the  realism  possible,  and  the  heads  are 
noble  and  touching  in  expression.  Above,  on  the  upper 
part  of  the  monument,  where  in  Italy  the  patron  saint  or 


178  SCULPTURE. 

some  other  figure  usually  is  placed,  the  king  and  queen 
again  appear  ;  they  are  kneeling,  with  full  drapery  about 
them,  while  the  faces  are  characteristic  and  very  expressive. 
This  monument,  taken  all  in  all,  is  in  the  perfection  of  the 
French  art  of  the  time.  Another  work  by  Juste  now  in  the 
Louvre  is  the  monument  to  Louis  de  Poncher,  one  of  the 
ministers  of  Francis  L,  and  his  wife,  Roberta.  These  stat- 
ues are  in  alabaster,  and  were  formerly  in  the  Church  of 
St.  Germain  I'Auxerrois,  which  was  built  by  Poncher. 

Pierre  Bontemps  must  have  been  a  famous  sculptor^ 
as  he  was  chosen  to  erect  the  monument  to  Francis  L, 
his  wife  Claude  and  their  three  children.  This  is  also  at 
St.  Denis,  and  is  even  more  grand  than  that  to  Louis  XIL 
On  the  upper  platform  the  five  figures  are  kneeling  ;  they 
are  noble  and  simple,  with  an  air  of  great  repose.  These 
examples  serve  to  give  an  idea  of  the  religious  sculpture  of 
the  time. 

Secular  subjects  were  unusual.  A  house  in  Bourges  is 
decorated  with  the  figures  of  the  master  and  mistress  above 
the  entrance,  as  if  they  would  speak  a  welcome,  while 
reliefs  of  industrial  scenes,  such  as  might  be  seen  outside 
and  inside  of  the  house,  are  placed  in  various  positions 
over  the  building  and  in  the  court-yard.  Something  of  a 
like  sort  is  upon  the  Hotel  Bourgtheroulde  at  Rouen,, 
where  the  friezes  show  scenes  between  Francis  L  and 
Henry  VHL  Biblical  scenes  are  also  distributed  over  the 
building. 

,  Bruges  is  almost  the  only  city  of  the  Netherlands  that 
has  any  sculptures  of  this  period  of  which  one  would  speak. 
Just  at  this  time  the  art  of  that  country  was  painting  pre- 
eminently, and  the  Van  Eycks  and  their  followers  had  done 
such  things  as  held  the  attention  of  all  to  the  neglect  of 
other  arts.  At  Bruges  in  the  cathedral,  the  Church  of 
St.  Jacques,  and  the  Liebfrauenkirche  there  are  some  fine 
monuments,  and   the  Palais  de  Justice  has  a  car\'ed  chim- 


IN   ENGLAND— IN   SPAIN.  1 79 

ney-piece  which  is  magnificent,  and  a  work  of  the  highest 

rank. 

In  England  sculpture  was  of  less  account  even  than  in 
the  Netherlands.  One  circumstance  is  worthy  of  notice. 
Pietro  Torrigiano,  after  quarrelling  with  Michael  Angelo 
and  breaking  his  nose,  fled  to  England,  and  his  monument 
of  Henry  VII.  and  his  queen  in  Westminster  Abbey, 
erected  in  15 19,  marks  the  introduction  of  the  style  of  the 
Italian  Renaissance  into  England.  The  structure  is  of 
black  marble  ;  the  statues  of  the  king  and  queen  are  in  gilt 
bronze,  and  are  grandly  noble  in  design  and  finished  in 
execution.  The  smaller  figures  and  all  the  details  of  the 
monument  are  fine.  The  master  received  i^iooo  for  this 
work.  Torrigiano  executed  other  works,  and  entered  into 
an  agreement  to  make  a  monument  to  Henry  VIII.  and 
Catherine  of  Aragon,  but  for  some  reason  he  went  to  Spain 
in  1 5 19  and  never  returned,  as  he  was  destroyed  by  the  In- 
quisition three  years  later. 

It  is  probable  that  Torrigiano  may  have  been  led  to 
Spain  by  hearing  of  the  revival  of  art  which  was  taking 
place  there.  Flemish  and  Italian  artists  went  there,  and 
the  influence  of  their  styles  was  felt  by  the  native  masters. 
The  result  was  that  they  brought  forth  a  manner  of  their 
own,  combining  certain  features  of  northern  and  of  south- 
ern art,  and  used  to  express  the  thoughts  of  the  Spaniards 
themselves.  The  carved  altars  of  Seville,  Toledo,  and 
Burgos  show  how  splendid  this  art  was  ;  and  though  we  can- 
not trace  the  lives  and  works  of  Spanish  sculptors  as  we 
should  like  to  do,  we  can  be  sure  that  there  were  men 
among  them  equal  to  any  demand  that  could  be  made  upon 
decorative  sculptors. 

This  is  proved  by  the  portals  and  fronts  of  the  churches, 
by  the  highly  ornamented  chapels,  the  wall  niches  and 
choir  screens  of  the  interiors,  while  the  monuments  are  also 
equal  to  those  of  other  nations.     That  of  Ferdinand  and 


l8o  SCULPTURE. 

Isabella  in  the  Church  of  the  Guardian  Angel,  at  Granada, 
is  noble  and  magnificent.  It  is  believed  to  have  been 
erected  before  the  death  of  Ferdinand  in  1 516,  and  was 
probably  the  work  of  an  Italian  sculptor.  This  monument 
has  a  large  marble  sarcophagus,  with  a  structure  above  it  in 
the  Renaissance  style.  At  the  corners  of  the  sarcophagus 
there  are  griffins  of  excellent  workmanship,  and  on  the 
sides  reliefs  and  statuettes  of  the  Four  Fathers  of  the 
Church  ;  on  the  lid  repose  the  figures  of  the  royal  pair,  ex- 
ecuted in  a  grand  and  dignified  simplicity. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

ITALIAN   SCULPTURE    IN    THE  SIXTEENTH   CENTURY-CEL- 
LINI,    MICHAEL  ANGELO,    AND    OTHERS. 

BY  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  sculpture  oc- 
cupied a  different  place  with  relation  to  architecture 
from  that  which  it  had  held  in  the  previous  centuries  which 
we  have  just  considered.  The  architecture  of  Italy  became 
much  more  plain,  and  its  union  with  sculpture  in  any  large 

degree  was  rare. 

Painting,  too,  had  now  an  effect  to  lessen  the  sphere  of 
sculpture.  This  art  was  always  preferred  by  the  Christians 
as  has  been  shown  before,  and  now,  when  it  had  reached 
most  satisfactory  heights,  it  was  used  in  many  places  where 
sculpture  had  before  been  placed.  One  important  example 
of  this  is  seen  in  the  decoration  of  altars  ;  where  bas-reliefs 
had  been  used  paintings  were  now  preferred,  and  the  end  of 
all  was  that  sculpture  was  limited  to  monuments  and  to  sepa- 
rate pieces-reliefs  or  single  statues  or  groups  of  figures. 

In  some  ways  this  separation  of  the  arts  was  a  benefit  to 
all  Under  the  old  rule  sculptors  had  often  been  forced  to 
sacrifice  their  design  to  the  needs  of  the  architecture  their 
work  adorned.  At  other  times  they  were  compelled  to  put 
aside  their  own  feeling  and  their  artistic  ideas  as  to  how  a 
subject  should  be  treated,  and  suit  themselves  to  such 
forms  as  were  approved  by  the  particular  priest  or  bishop 
whose  church  they  decorated.     Now,  when  left  to  itselt, 


l82  SCULPTURE. 

sculpture  became  more  individual  in  its  expression,  and 
far  more  free  and  interesting  in  itself.  In  the  beginning  of 
the  sixteenth  century  the  works  of  Italian  sculpture  were 
splendid  in  the  extreme.  It  was  delicate  and  beautiful  ; 
the  drapery  was  made  to  show  the  figure  and  its  natural 
motion,  while  it  added  an  exquisite  grace  to  the  whole  ; 
many  works  of  this  period  were  fine  in  conception,  good  in 
their  arrangement,  and  executed  in  a  noble,  spirited  man- 
ner. Some  critics  believe  that  during  the  first  four  decades 
of  this  era  Italian  sculpture  equalled  the  antique  art  of  the 
Romans.  Others  make  1520,  or  the  time  of  Raphael,  the 
limit  to  the  best  epoch  of  this  art  ;  but  it  is  scarcely  possi- 
ble thus  to  fix  an  exact  bound  ;  the  important  point  is  that 
this  excellence  was  reached,  and  the  regret  follows  that  it 
could  not  endure  for  a  longer  period. 

A  far  greater  variety  of  subjects  was  represented  in 
this  age  of  sculpture  than  before.  Formerly  the  rule  was 
the  production  of  religious  effects.  Scenes  from  the  life  of 
Christ  and  his  disciples,  others  from  those  of  the  saints,  or 
the  illustration  of  scriptural  stories,  with  the  portrait  tomb- 
sculpture,  had  been  the  sculptor's  work.  Now  all  the 
stories  of  mythology  were  studied  as  diligently  as  they  had 
been  in  classic  days,  and  artists  studied  to  clothe  the  pagan 
personages  with  new  forms  ;  and  in  all  this  effort  much  ap- 
peared that  was  original.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  such  sculp- 
ture from  the  hand  of  a  Christian  artist  must  lack  the  impor- 
tant element  of  pure  sincerity.  An  artist  who  believed  in 
Jesus  Christ  could  not  conceive  a  statue  of  Jupiter,  with  all 
the  glorious  attributes,  that  an  ancient  Greek  would  have 
given  to  his  god  of  gods.  In  this  view  the  sculpture  of 
classic  subjects  of  this  sixteenth  century  may  be  said  to 
have  been  two-sided — the  work  illustrated  a  religion  in 
which  the  artist  pleased  his  imagination,  but  for  which  he 
had  no  reverence  or  love.  But  in  spite  of  all  it  was  a 
golden  age,  and  many  of  its  works  are  a  "  joy  forever." 


IN    ITALY. 


183 


Although  the  first  public  work  which  Leonardo  da  Vinci 
did   at   Milan   was   to   model   an  equestrian  statue,  we  can 
scarcely  speak  of  him  as  a  sculptor.     But  the  first  Floren- 
tine  of  this  period    whom    I   shall   mention   is    GIOVANNI 
Francesco  Rustici  (1476-1550).  who  was  a  fellow-pupil 
with  Leonardo  under  Verocchio.     Very  few  works  by  this 
master  remain,  but  a  prominent  and    important  one  is  the 
bronze  group  above  the  northern  portal  to  the  Baptistery 
at  Florence.     It  represents  the  "  Preaching  of  St.  John  the 
Baptist,"  and  is  grand  in  the 
free  action  of  its  figures.     The 
drapery  is  in  a  pure  style,  very 
much    like    that    of    Ghiberti 
(Figs.    100,   lOi).     This  work 
was    ordered    by    a    guild    of 
merchants,  and  they  failed  to 
pay  the  price  which  had  been 
fixed  for  it.      Rustici  was   so 
embarrassed   by  this   that  he 
undertook     no     more      large 
works,   and  after  the   Medici 
were  expelled  from  Florence 
he  went   into    the    service  of 
Francis  L     In  France  he  had 
executed  various  works,  and 
was   finally   commissioned    to 

model  an  equestrian  statue  of  the  king  in  colossal  size, 
when  the  sovereign  died.  Rustici  survived  but  three  years, 
and  we  are  told  that  he  only  executed  small  works,  and 
those  "  for  the  most  part  for  the  sake  of  kindness." 

Andrea  Contucci  dal  Monte  San  Saving,  called 
Sansovino  (1460-1S29),  was  a  very  important  sculptor,  be- 
cause large  works  w^ere  committed  to  him,  and  his  name 
must  remain  associated  with  them.  Like  Giotto,  Sansovino 
was  a  shepherd-boy,  and  drew  pictures  upon  the  stones  of 


Fig.  100.  Fig.  ioi. 

Pharisee.  Levite. 

By  Rustici. 


1 84  SCULPTURE. 

the  fields.  Like  Giotto,  too,  he  was  sent  to  Florence  to 
study,  and  in  the  school  of  Pallajuolo  made  good  progress. 
When  thirty  years  old  he  was  appointed  architect  and 
sculptor  to  the  King  of  Portugal.  After  an  absence  of  ten 
years  he  returned  to  Florence,  and  later  to  Rome,  where 
Pope  Julius  II.  commissioned  him  to  erect  monuments  to 
the  Cardinals  Rovere  and  Sforza,  in  the  Church  of  Santa 
Maria  del  Popolo. 

These  monuments  were  his  best  works,  but  they  cannot 
be  praised.  The  statues  are  in  positions  which  seem  to  be 
uncomfortable,  and  there  is  such  a  mass  of  ornament  and 
so  many  statuettes  that  the  whole  has  an  effect  of  confu- 
sion. 

In  1 5 13  Leo  X.  sent  Sansovino  to  Loreto  to  adorn  the 
temple  which  incloses  the  "  Casa  Santa"  with  bas-reliefs. 
This  Casa  Santa  is  believed  to  be  the  house  in  which  the 
Virgin  Mary  was  born  at  Nazareth  ;  and  when  the  Saracens 
invaded  the  land  four  angels  are  said  to  have  borne  the 
house  to  the  coast  of  Dalmatia,  and  later  to  a  spot  near 
Loreto  ;  but  here  some  brigands  entered  it,  and  again  it 
was  removed  to  its  present  position  in  the  Church  of 
Loreto  ;  this  is  said  to  have  been  done  in  1295.  Naturally 
this  "  Casa  Santa"  is  a  sacred  object  to  all  Roman  Catho- 
lics, and  it  is  visited  by  thousands  and  thousands  of  pil- 
grims each  year. 

The  decoration  of  this  shrine  was  very  important,  and  an 
honorable  work  for  any  artist.  Sansovino  did  not  execute 
all  the  reliefs,  and  the  highest  praise  that  can  be  given  to 
those  he  did  is  to  say  that  they  are  superior  to  the  others 
that  are  beside  them.  He  was  a  most  skilful  workman, 
and  it  seems  as  if  marble  became  like  wax  under  his  hand  ; 
but  this  very  skill  led  him  to  multiply  his  ornaments,  and 
to  repeat  acanthus  leaves  and  honeysuckle  vines  until  the 
whole  was  a  weariness  and  confusion,  and  conveyed  no 
meaning  or  sentiment  whatever. 


JACOPO   SANSOVINO. 


185 


Sansovino's   most   important   pupil  was  Jacopo  Tatti 
who,  on  account  of  his  master,  is  called  Jacopo  Sansovino 
(1477-1570).      He    was    born    at 
Florence,  and  when  Andrea  San- 
sovino   returned    from   Portugal 
Jacopo  became  his  pupil.     Early 
iA   life   he   went   to   Rome,    and 
there    studied    and    copied    the 
works  of  antiquity  ;  among  other 
things   he  made   a  copy  of  the 
Laocoon,     which    was     cast     in 
bronze    at    a    later   time.     Soon 
after  his  return   to  Florence,  in 
151 1,  Jacopo  received  orders  for 
some   works,   but   the   most  im- 
portant  statue    which    he    made 
about  this  time  is  the  Bacchus, 
now  in  the  Ufifizi.      In  this  work 
he    showed    how  completely  he 
was  in  sympathy  with  the  classic 
spirit  ;  this  Bacchus  is  a  triumph 
in    this    manner,   and    has    been 
called  **the   most  beautiful  and 
spirited  pagan  statue  of  the  Re- 
naissance  period."     It  is  full  of 
gladness,  and  is  simple,  delicate, 
and  beautiful.     The  young  god 
is  advancing  and  holding  up  a 
cup,  which  he  regards  with  an  ex- 
pression of   delight  ;   in  his  right 
hand  he  has  a  bunch  of  grapes, 
from    which    a    Pan    is     eating 
stealthily  (Fig.  102). 

I^  1 5 14  Jacopo  Sansovino  was  employed  upon  the  deco- 
rations for  the  visit  of  Leo  X.  to  Florence.      Soon  after  this 


Fig.  102. —Bacchus. 

By  Jacopo  Sansovino. 


1 86  SCULPTURE. 

he  went  again  to  Rome  and  submitted  plans  for  the  Church 
of  San  Giovanni  de'  Fiorentini,  which  the  Florentines  were 
about  to  erect — for  this  master  was  an  architect  as  well  as  a 
sculptor.  The  taking  of  Rome  by  Constable  de  Bourbon, 
in  1527,  drove  Sansovino  away  ;  he  went  to  Venice,  intend- 
ing to  go  to  France,  but  Venice  charmed  him,  and  his  work 
pleased  the  Venetians,  and  the  result  was  that  from  1529  he 
served  the  Venetians  as  long  as  he  lived.  He  was  ap- 
pointed Protomastro  of  the  Republic  of  Venice,  and  had  the 
care  of  St.  Mark's,  the  Campanile,  the  Piazza,  and  the  sur- 
rounding buildings.  He  received  a  good  salary,  and  was 
provided  with  a  handsome  house  to  live  in. 

He  first  restored  the  cupolas  of  St.  Mark's  ;  then  com- 
pleted the  Scuola  della  Misericordia  ;  he  next  made  the  in- 
terior of  San  Francesco  della  Vigna  :  then  the  Zecca,  the 
Fabbriche  Nuove,  and  the  Loggietta  of  the  Campanile.  He 
also  erected  other  churches  and  palaces,  besides  smaller 
sculptural  works.  But  his  architectural  masterpiece  was 
the  Library  of  St.  Mark's.  The  bronze  gate  to  the  Sacristy 
of  St.  Mark's  was  one  of  his  principal  works.  It  is  subject 
to  criticism  as  being  too  crowded  ;  but  it  is  a  fine  work  and 
full  of  strong  feeling. 

His  statues  are  numerous  and  seen  all  over  Venice  ;  in- 
deed, it  is  proper  to  speak  of  him  as  a  Venetian,  so  thor- 
oughly did  he  adopt  that  city,  and  so  industriously  did  he 
work  for  it  during  forty  years.  Had  he  remained  in  Flor- 
ence he  might  have  been  a  better  artist  ,  the  splendor  and 
luxury  of  the  Venetians  brought  out  corresponding  traits  in 
Jacopo,  and  he  fell  short  of  the  purity  which  the  influence 
of  Florence  might  have  given  him.  He  is  one  of  the  mas- 
ters in  whom  the  sensual  influence  of  the  study  of  pagan 
art  was  fully  manifested.  Many  of  his  subjects  were  mytho- 
logical ;  among  them  were  the  story  of  Phrixos  and  Helle, 
Mercury,  Apollo,  Pallas,  Mars,  and  Neptune,  the  last  two 
being  colossal  figures  on  the  steps  of  the  Doge's  Palace. 


BENVENUTO   CELLINI.  1 87 

Among  the  pupils  and  associates  of  Sansovino  were 
NICCOLO  Braccini  (1485-1550),  called  II  Tribolo,  and 
Francesco  Sangallo  (1498-1570),  neither  of  whom  were 
important  artists,  though  many  works  by  them  are  seen  in 
various  places  in  Italy. 

Benvenuto  Cellini  (1500- 1572)  is  a  far  more  interest- 
ing study  than  were  many  sculptors  of  his  time.  His  life 
was  an  eventful  one,  and  his  own  account  of  it  is  one  of  the 
most  interesting  books  of  its  class  in  existence.  His  state- 
ment of  the  origin  of  his  family  is  that  "Julius  Caesar 
had  a  chief  and  valorous  captain  named  Fiorino  da  Cellino, 
from  a  castle  situated  four  miles  from  Monte  Fiascone. 
This  Fiorino  having  pitched  his  camp  below  Fiesole,  where 
Florence  now  stands,  in  order  to  be  near  the  river  Arno, 
for  the  convenience  of  the  army,  the  soldiers  and  other  per- 
sons, when  they  had  the  occasion  to  visit  him,  said  to  each 
other,  *  Let  us  go  to  Fiorenza,  *  which  name  they  gave  to 
the  place  where  they  were  encamped,  partly  from  their 
captain's  name  of  Fiorino,  and  partly  from  the  abundance 
of  flowers  which  grew  there  ;  wherefore  Cassar,  thinking  it 
a  beautiful  name,  and  considering  flowers  to  be  of  good 
augury,  and  also  wishing  to  honor  his  captain,  whom  he 
had  raised  from  an  humble  station,  and  to  whom  he  was 
greatly  attached,  gave  it  to  the  city  which  he  founded  on 
that  spot." 

When  this  artist  was  born  his  father  was  quite  old,  and 
named  him  Benvenuto,  which  means  welcome,  on  account 
of  his  pleasure  in  the  child  of  his  old  age.  The  father  had 
a  passion  for  music,  and  from  the  first  wished  that  his  son 
should  study  this  art  ;  but  the  boy  loved  drawing,  and  was 
determined  to  be  an  artist  ;  thus  his  time  was  divided  be- 
tween these  two  pursuits  until  he  was  fifteen  years  old^ 
when  he  was  apprenticed  to  a  goldsmith. 

Benvenuto  had  a  fiery  temper,  and  when  still  very  young 
he   became   involved   in   so   serious  a  quarrel   that   he  was 


1 88  SCULPTURE. 

obliged  to  flee  from  Florence.  He  went  first  to  Siena,  and 
thence  to  Bologna,  and  at  last  back  to  Florence,  where  he 
resumed  his  work.  It  was  not  long,  however,  before  he 
became  angry  again  because  his  best  clothes  were  given  to 
his  brother,  and  he  walked  off  to  Pisa,  where  he  remained  a 
year.  He  had  even  then  become  so  skilful  in  his  art  that 
some  of  his  works  done  there  have  never  been  excelled 
either  in  design  or  execution. 

When  Cellini  was  eighteen  years  old  Torrigiano  came  to 
Florence  to  engage  artists  to  go  to  England  to  aid  him  in 
some  works  he  was  to  execute.  He  wished  to  have  Cellini 
in  the  number  ;  but  Torrigiano  so  disgusted  Benvenuto  by 
his  boasting  of  the  blow  that  he  had  given  Michael  Angelo, 
that  though  he  had  the  natural  youthful  desire  to  travel, 
he  refused  to  be  employed  by  such  a  man  as  Torrigiano. 
We  can  safely  assume  that  this  predisposed  Michael  Angelo 
in  Cellini's  favor,  and  was  the  foundation  of  the  friendship 
which  he  afterward  showed  to  the  younger  sculptor. 

From  his  eighteenth  to  his  fortieth  year  Cellini  lived 
mostly  at  Rome.  He  was  employed  by  Pope  Clement  VH., 
the  cardinals  and  Roman  nobles.  The  Pope  desired  to 
have  a  cope  button  made  and  a  magnificent  diamond  set  in 
it.  This  jewel  had  cost  Julius  H.  thirty-six  thousand 
ducats.  Many  artists  sent  in  designs  for  this  button,  and 
Clement  chose  that  by  Cellini.  He  used  the  diamond  as  a 
throne,  and  placed  a  figure  of  the  Almighty  upon  it  ;  the 
hand  was  raised  as  if  in  blessing,  and  many  angels  fluttered 
about  the  folds  of  the  drapery,  while  various  jewels  were 
set  around  the  whole.  When  other  artists  saw  the  design 
they  did  not  believe  that  it  could  be  executed  successfully  ; 
but  Cellini  made  it  a  perfect  work  of  art  and  of  beauty. 

Cellini  writes  of  himself  as  being  very  active  in  the  siege 
of  Rome,  May  5th,  1527.  He  says  that  he  killed  the  Con- 
stable de  Bourbon,  who  led  the  siege,  and  that  he  wounded 
the  Prince  of  Orange,  who  was  chosen  in  Bourbon's  place. 


BENVENUTO   CELLINI.  1 89 

No  one  else  saw  him  perform  these  feats.     Cellini  went  to 
the   Pope,   who   was   in   the   Castle  of  St.  Angelo,  and  he 
there  rendered  such  services  to  the  cause  of  the  Church  that 
the  Holy  Father  pardoned  him   for  all  the  sins  into  which 
his  temper  had  led  him— "  for  all   the  homicides  he  had 
committed  or  might  commit  in  the  service  of  the  Apostolic 
Church."     A  few  years  later,  when  Cellini  was  called  upon 
to  take  part  in  the  defence  of  his  own  city,  he  put  all  his 
property  into  the  care  of  a  friend,  and  stole  away  to  Rome. 
In  1534  Cellini  killed  a  fellow-goldsmith,  called  Pompeo  ; 
Paul  III.  was  now  Pope  ;   and  as  he  needed  the  services  of 
Benvenuto  very  much  he  pardoned  him.     But  the  sculptor 
felt  that  he  was  in  ill  favor  with  all  about  him,  and  went  to 
France.     In   about  a  year  he  returned  to  find  that  he  had 
been  accused   of  stealing  some  jewels  which  the  pope  had 
commanded  him  to  take  out  of  their  settings.     Cellini   was 
held   a  prisoner  nearly  two  years,  but   his  guilt  was  never 

proved. 

At  the  end  of  this  time  the  Cardinal  Ippolito  d'Este 
obtained  his  release  in  order  that  he  might  go  to  France  to 
execute  some  work  for  Francis  I.  Cellini  remained  in 
p'rance  five  years,  and  received  many  honors  and  gifts  ;  but 
as  Madame  d'Etampes  and  other  persons  to  whose  advice 
the  king  listened  were  enemies  of  Cellini,  he  never  was 
treated  as  his  artistic  qualities  merited.  Francis  I.  really 
admired  Cellini,  and  presented  him  with  the  H6tel  de  Petit 
Nesle,  which  was  on  the  site  of  the  present  Hotel  de  la 
Monnaie  ;  he  also  made  him  a  lord,  and  on  one  occasion 
expressed  his  fear  of  losing  him,  when  Madame  d'Etampes 
replied,  "  The  surest  way  of  keeping  him  would  be  to  hang 
him  on  a  gibbet." 

Of  all  the  objects  which  Cellini  made  during  his  five 
years  in  France  but  two  remain.  One  is  a  splendid  salt- 
cellar, and  the  other  is  a  nymph  in  bronze,  which  was  made 
for  the   Palace  of  Fontainebleau,  and  is  now  in  the  Renais- 


190  SCULPTURE. 

sance  Museum  of  the  Louvre.  This  salt-cellar  is  now  in 
the  Ambraser  Gallery  at  Vienna.  The  frieze  around  the 
base  has  figures  in  relief  which  represent  the  hours  of  the 
day  and  the  winds.  The  upper  part  is  made  like  the  sur- 
face of  the  sea,  and  from  it  rise  figures  of  Neptune  and 
Cybele.  The  first  is  a  symbol  of  the  salt  of  the  sea,  and 
the  second  of  the  spices  which  the  earth  gives.  The  god  is 
placing  his  arm  on  a  small  ship  intended  for  the  salt,  and  a 
vessel  for  pepper,  in  the  form  of  a  triumphal  arch,  is  near 
the  goddess.  All  this  is  made  of  fine  embossed  gold,  and 
has  some  touches  of  enamel-work.  It  is  one  of  the  finest 
pieces  of  the  goldsmith's  art  which  remains  from  the  six- 
teenth century. 

In  1545  Cellini  returned  to  Florence,  and  remained  there, 
with  short  absences,  until  his  death.  Duke  Cosmo  de'  Me- 
dici became  his  patron,  and  commissioned  him  to  make  a 
statue  of  Perseus  for  the  Loggia  de'  Lanzi.  The  ambition 
of  the  artist  was  much  excited  by  the  thought  of  having  his 
work  placed  by  those  of  Donatello  and  Michael  Angelo,  and 
all  care  was  taken  from  his  mind,  as  the  Duke  provided  him 
with  a  comfortable  house  and  gave  him  a  salary  sufficient 
for  his  support. 

It  was  nine  years  before  the  statue  was  completed  and 
in  its  place,  and  in  this  time  Cellini  had  suffered  much. 
Baccio  Bandinelli  and  others  were  his  enemies,  and  at 
times  the  Duke  had  been  under  their  influence,  and  would 
not  furnish  the  money  necessary  to  the  work.  But  at  last 
all  was  ready  for  the  casting  ;  and  just  at  this  unfortunate 
moment  for  Cellini  to  leave  it  he  was  seized  with  a  severe 
illness  ;  he  was  suffering  much,  and  believed  himself  about 
to  die,  when  some  one  ran  in  shouting,  "  Oh,  Benvenuto, 
your  work  is  ruined  past  earthly  remedy  !" 

Ill  as  he  was  he  rushed  out  to  the  furnace,  to  find  that 
the  fire  was  too  low,  and  the  metal,  being  cool,  had  ceased 
flowing  into  the  mould.      By  almost  superhuman  efforts  he 


BENVENUTO   CELLINI. 


191 


remedied  the  evil,  and 
again  the  bronze  flowed  ; 
he  prayed  earnestly,  and 
when  the  mould  was 
filled  he  writes  :  *'  I  fell 
on  my  knees  and  thanked 
God  with  all  my  heart, 
after  which  I  ate  a  hearty 
meal  with  my  assistants, 
and  it  being  then  two 
hours  before  dawn,  went 
to  bed  with  a  light  heart, 
and  slept  as  sweetly  as  if 
I  had  never  been  ill  in 
all  my  life." 

When  the  statue  was 
unveiled  Cellini's  predic- 
tion that  it  would  please 
all  the  world  except  Ban- 
dinelli  and  his  friends 
was  fulfilled.  Perseus  is 
represented  just  at  the 
moment  when  he  has  cut 
off  the  head  of  Medusa, 
who  was  one  of  the  Gor- 
gons,  and  had  turned  to 
stone  every  one  who 
looked  at  her.   (Fig.  103.) 

After  the  completion 
of  the  Perseus,  Cellini 
went  to  Rome  for  a  short 
time.  While  there  he 
made  a  bust  of  Bindo 
Altoviti  ;  when  Michael 
Angelo      saw      this      he 


Fig.  103. — Perseus.     By  Benvenuto 
Cellini. 


192  SCULPTURE. 

wrote  :  "  My  Benvenuto,  I  have  long  known  you  as  the  best 
goldsmith  in  the  world,  and  I  now  know  you  as  an  equally 
good  sculptor,  through  the  bust  of  Messer  Bindo  Altoviti." 
Cellini  did  no  more  important  works,  though  he  was  always 
industrious.  He  made  a  crucifix  which  he  intended  for  his 
own  grave,  but  he  gave  it  to  the  Duchess  Eleanora  ;  this 
was  afterward  sent  to  Philip  II.  of  Spain,  and  is  now  in  the 
Escurial. 

Cellini's  life  was  by  no  means  a  model  one,  but  he  had 
his  good  qualities.  He  took  a  widowed  sister  with  six  chil- 
dren to  his  home,  and  made  them  welcome  and  happy.  At 
his  death  he  was  buried  in  the  Church  of  the  Annunziata, 
beneath  the  chapel  of  the  Company  of  St.  Luke,  and  many 
honors  were  paid  to  his  memory. 

His  autobiography  was  so  rich  in  its  use  of  the  Floren- 
tine manner  of  speech  and  so  fine  in  its  diction  that  it  was 
honored  as  an  authority  by  the  Accademia  della  Crusca. 
He  also  wrote  valuable  works  on  the  goldsmith's  art  and 
on  bronze-casting  and  sculpture.  He  wrote  poems  and 
various  kinds  of  verses,  but  his  large  acquaintance  with 
popes,  cardinals,  kings,  artists,  and  men  of  letters  makes  his 
story  of  his  life  far  more  interesting  than  his  other  writings. 

The  artists  of  Upper  Italy  were  much  influenced  by 
Florentine  art,  as  they  had  formerly  been,  and  we  can 
speak  of  no  very  great  sculptor  of  this  century  who  belonged 
to  this  part  of  the  country.  ALFONSO  LOMBARDO  (1488- 
1537)  ^vas  a  native  of  Lucca  ;  his  principal  works  are  seen 
in  Ferrara,  Bologna,  and  Cesena. 

Properzia  1)E'  Rossi  (1490-1530)  was  born  at  Bologna, 
and  is  interesting  as  the  one  Italian  sculptress  of  that  time. 
She  was  born  about  a  year  after  her  father  had  returned 
from  the  galleys,  where  he  had  worked  out  a  sentence  of 
eighteen  years  for  the  crime  of  manslaughter.  Properzia 
seems  to  have  inherited  her  father's  violent  temper,  and 
was  twice  arraigned   in   court.      She  was  very  beautiful  in 


ANTONIO    BEGARELLI.  I93 

person,  and  had  a  devoted  lover  in  Antonio  Galeazzo  Mal- 
vasia  de'  Bottigari,  who  did  not  marry  until  many  years 
after  the  death  of  Properzia. 

Properzia  studied  drawing  under  Marc  Antonio  Rai- 
mondi,  the  famous  engraver.  She  first  devoted  herself  to 
the  cutting  of  intaglios,  which  demanded  an  immense 
amount  of  patient  labor.  There  is  in  the  cabinet  of  gems 
in  the  Uffizi  Gallery,  at  Florence,  a  cherry-stone  carved  by 
Properzia,  on  which  sixty  heads  may  be  counted  ;  the  sub- 
ject is  a  Glory  of  Saints.  Other  like  works  of  hers  exist  in 
the  Palazzo  Grassi,  in  Bologna.  Her  next  work  was  in 
arabesques,  marble  ornaments,  lions,  griffins,  vases,  eagles, 
and  similar  objects. 

Finally  she  essayed  a  bust  of  Count  Guido  Pepoli  ;  it  is 
now  in  the  Sacristy  of  San  Petronio,  in  Bologna.  In  the 
same  place  are  two  bas-reliefs  by  her  hand,  Solomon  receiv- 
ing the  Queen  of  Sheba,  and  Joseph  and  Potiphar's  Wife. 
In  the  chapel  Zambeccari  in  San  Petronio  there  are  two 
large  figures  of  angels  by  Properzia,  which  are  near  the 
Ascension  of  the  Virgin  by  II  Tribolo.  Her  manner  was 
much  influenced  by  her  contact  with  this  sculptor.  Pro- 
perzia was  employed,  with  other  artists,  to  finish  the  sculp- 
ture of  the  portal  of  San  Petronio,  left  unfinished  by  Jacopo 
della  Querela. 

Antonio  Begarelli  {i4gg-ts6s),  called  also  Antonio 
DA  MoDENA,  from  the  place  of  his  birth,  was  a  celebrated 
modeller  in  clay.  It  is  said  that  when  Michael  Angelo 
visited  Modena  in  1529  he  saw  Begarelli  and  his  works,  and 
exclaimed,  **  Alas  for  the  statues  of  the  ancients,  if  this 
clay  were  changed  to  marble  !"  Begarelli  had  a  school  for 
teaching  design  and  modelling,  and  he  greatly  influenced 
the  manner  of  the  Lombard  school  of  painting.  Its  fore- 
shortening, its  relief  and  grace  are  largely  due  to  him  and 
his  teaching. 

Begarelli  and  Correggio  were  fast  friends,  and  resembled 


194  SCULPTURE. 

each  other  in  their  conception  of  the  grand  and  beautiful. 
When  Correggio  was  decorating  the  cupola  of  the  Cathedral 
of  Parma,  Begarelli  was  at  work  in  the  same  place,  and 
made  many  models  from  which  Correggio  painted  his  float- 
ing figures.  Some  works  by  Begarelli  may  be  seen  in  the 
Berlin  Museum.  His  Descent  from  the  Cross,  in  the  Church 
of  San  Francesco,  at  Modena,  is  one  of  his  best  works.  He 
was  also  employed  in  the  Church  of  San  Benedetto,  in 
Mantua,  and  in  San  Giovanni,  at  Parma. 

During  the  sixteenth  century  the  works  at  the  Certosa 
at  Pavia  and  in  various  edifices  in  Milan  were  constantly 
carried  on.  Frequently  the  same  sculptors  worked  in  both 
cities,  but  there  is  no  one  artist  of  great  excellence  among 
them  of  whom  we  can  give  an  account.  The  same  is  true 
of  the  works  in  Venice  and  in  Southern  Italy.  The  travel- 
ler sees  many  pieces  of  sculpture  belonging  to  this  period, 
but  there  are  no  great  and  interesting  men  whose  story  we 
can  tell  in  connection  with  them,  and  I  shall  now  pass  to  an 
account  of  the  great  Florentine. 

Michael  Angelo  Buonarroti  (1475-1564)  was  born 
in  the  Castle  of  Caprese,  where  his  father,  Ludovico  Buo- 
narroti, was  stationed  at  that  time,  holding  the  office  of 
Podesta,  or  Governor,  of  the  towns  of  Caprese  and  Chiusi. 
The  Buonarroti  family  held  good  rank  in  Florence,  and  the 
mother  of  the  great  artist 'was  also  a  woman  of  good  posi- 
tion. When  his  father  returned  to  Florence  the  child 
Michael  was  left  at  Settignano  upon  an  estate  of  the 
family,  and  was  in  the  care  of  the  wife  of  a  stone-mason. 
As  soon  as  the  boy  could  use  his  hands  he  drew  pictures 
everywhere  that  it  was  possible,  and  his  nurse  could  show 
many  of  these  childish  drawings  with  which  he  adorned  the 
walls  of  her  house. 

At  a  proper  time  Michael  Angelo  was  removed  to  P'lor- 
ence  and  placed  in  a  school,  where  he  became  intimate 
with    Francesco   Granacci,    who   was  a   pupil   of  the   artist 


MICHAEL  ANGELO.  I95 

Ghirlandajo.  Michael  Angelo's  father  and  his  uncles  were 
firmly  opposed  to  his  being  an  artist  ;  they  wished  him  to 
follow  the  traditions  of  his  family,  and  carry  on  the  silk 
and  woollen  trade.  But  the  boy  was  firm  in  his  determina- 
tion, and  after  many  trials  was  at  length,  in  1488,  appren- 
ticed to  the  Ghirlandaji  for  three  years. 

Domenico  Ghirlandajo  was  at  this  time  engaged  in  the 
restoration  of  the  Church  of  Santa  Maria  Novella,  and 
Michael  Angelo  came  into  the  midst  of  great  artistic  works. 
One  day  at  the  dinner  hour  he  drew  a  picture  of  the 
scaffolding  and  all  its  belongings,  with  the  men  at  work  on 
it  ;  it  was  a  remarkable  drawing  for  a  boy,  and  when  the 
master  saw  it  he  exclaimed,  "  He  understands  more  than 
I  do  myself  !"  The  master  really  became  jealous  of  his 
pupil,  more  especially  when  Michael  Angelo  corrected  the 
drawings  which  Ghirlandajo  gave  his  scholars  for  models. 

About  this  time  Michael  Angelo  was  brought  to  the 
notice  of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  who  was  at  that  time  at  the 
head  of  the  government  of  Florence,  and  from  him  the  boy- 
artist  obtained  admission  for  himelf  and  Granacci  to  study 
in  the  gardens  of  San  Marco.  The  art  treasures  of  the 
Medici  were  placed  in  these  gardens  ;  works  of  sculpture 
were  there,  and  cartoons  and  pictures  were  hung  in  build- 
ings erected  for  the  purpose,  and  art-students  were  admit- 
ted to  study  there  and  proper  instructors  provided  for 
them. 

The  master  in  sculpture  was  old  Bertoldo,  and  Michael 
Angelo,  forsaking  painting,  obtained  some  instruments  and 
a  piece  of  marble,  and  copied  a  mask  of  a  faun.  He 
changed  his  own  work  somewhat  from  the  model,  and 
opened  the  mouth  so  that  the  teeth  could  be  seen.  When 
Lorenzo  saw  this  he  praised  the  work,  but  said,  "  You  have 
made  your  faun  old,  and  yet  you  have  left  all  his  teeth  ;  you 
should  have  known  that  at  such  an  age  there  are  generally 
.some  teeth  wanting."     When  he  came  again  he  saw  that  a 


196  SCULPTURE. 

gap  had  been  made  in  the  teeth,  and  so  well  done  that  he 
was  delighted.      This  work  is  now  in  the  Uffizi  Gallery. 

Very  soon  Lorenzo  sent  for  Michael  Angelo's  father, 
who  had  been  sad  enough  at  the  thought  that  his  son  might 
be  a  painter,  and  was  now  in  despair  when  he  found  that 
he  inclined  also  to  be  a  stone-mason.  At  first  he  refused 
to  see  the  duke,  but  Granacci  persuaded  him  to  go.  He 
went  with  a  firm  determination  to  yield  to  nothing,  but 
once  in  presence  of  Lorenzo  he  yielded  everything,  and 
returned  home  declaring  that  not  only  Michael,  but  he 
himself,  and  all  that  he  had  were  at  the  nobleman's  service. 

Lorenzo  at  once  took  Michael  Angelo  into  his  palace  ; 
he  clothed  the  boy  properly,  and  gave  him  five  ducats  a 
month  for  spending  money.  Each  day  Lorenzo  gave  an 
entertainment,  and  it  was  the  rule  that  the  first  person  who 
came  should  sit  next  the  duke  at  the  head  of  the  table. 
Michael  Angelo  often  had  this  place,  and  he  soon  became  a 
great  favorite  with  Lorenzo,  and  obtained  besides  the 
greatest  advantages  from  the  life  in  the  palace  ;  for  many 
eminent  men  from  all  parts  of  the  world  came  to  visit  there, 
and  all  sorts  of  subjects  were  discussed  in  such  a  manner 
that  a  young  man  could  learn  much  of  the  world  and  what 
was  in  it,  and  acquire  a  feeling  of  ease  wnth  strangers  and 
in  society  such  as  few  young  persons  possess. 

Michael  Angelo  was  but  seventeen  years  old  when  Poli- 
ziano  advised  him  to  attempt  an  original  work,  and  gave 
him  the  marble  for  a  relief  of  the  contest  between  Hercules 
and  the  Centaurs.  This  work  surprised  every  one,  and  is 
still  preserved  in  the  collection  of  the  Buonarroti  family. 
Li  the  year  1492  he  also  made  a  relief  of  the  Madonna 
Suckling  the  Child  Jesus,  which  is  also  in  the  same  place. 
In  the  same  year  Lorenzo  de'  Medici  died,  and  Michael 
Angelo,  full  of  grief,  went  to  his  father's  house  and  ar- 
ranged a  studio  there.  After  a  time  Piero  de  Medici  invited 
him  to  come  back  to  the  palace,  and  he  went  ;  but  it  was 


Fig.  104. — Michael  Angelo's  Angel.    Bologna. 


198  SCULPTURE. 

no  more  the  same  place  as  formerly,  and  he  was  unhappy- 
there.  Soon  political  troubles  drove  the  Medici  from 
power,  and  in  1494,  in  the  midst  of  the  confusion,  Michael 
Angelo  escaped  to  Venice.  There  he  made  friends  with 
Gian  Francesco  Aldovrandi  of  Bologna,  and  was  persuaded 
by  that  nobleman  to  accompany  him  to  his  own  city. 

While  at  Bologna  he  executed  an  angel  holding  a  can- 
delabra, which  is  one  of  the  most  lovely  and  pleasing  things 
he  ever  made  (Fig.  104J.  When  he  received  the  commis- 
sion to  ornament  the  sarcophagus  which  contained  the 
remains  of  San  Domenico  in  the  Church  of  San  Petronio, 
the  Bolognese  artists  were  so  angry  at  being  thus  set  aside 
for  a  stranger,  and  a  youth  of  twenty,  that  they  threatened 
vengeance  on  him,  and  he  returned  to  Florence. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  he  executed  a  Cupid,  which  was 
the  means  of  leading  him  to  Rome.  The  story  is  that 
when  he  had  the  statue  completed  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  a 
relative  of  his  first  patron,  advised  him  to  give  it  the  ap- 
pearance of  an  antique  marble,  and  added  that  he  would 
then  sell  it  in  Rome  and  get  a  good  price  for  it.  Michael 
Angelo  consented  to  this  plan,  and  in  the  end  he  received 
thirty  ducats  for  the  work.  The  secret  of  its  origin  was 
not  kept,  and  the  cardinal  who  had  bought  it  sent  an  agent 
to  Florence  to  find  out  the  truth  about  it.  This  agent  pre- 
tended to  be  in  search  of  a  sculptor  ;  and  when  he  saw 
Michael  Angelo  he  asked  him  what  works  he  had  done. 
When  he  mentioned  a  Sleeping  Cupid,  and  the  agent  asked 
questions,  the  young  sculptor  found  that  the  cardinal  had 
paid  two  hundred  ducats  for  it,  and  that  he  had  been 
greatly  deceived  when  attempting  to  deceive  others. 

Michael  Angelo  consented  to  go  to  Rome  with  this  man, 
who  promised  to  receive  him  into  his  own  house,  and  as- 
sured him  that  he  would  be  fully  occupied  in  the  Eternal 
City.  The  oldest  writing  by  the  hand  of  Michael  Angelo  is 
the   letter   which   he   wrote   to    Lorenzo  tellincr  him  of  his 


Fig.  105. — PietX.     By  Michael  Angela. 


200  SCULPTURE. 

arrival  in  Rome  ;  when  this  was  written  he  was  twenty-one 
years  old.  The  first  work  which  he  did  after  he  reached 
Rome  was  the  "  Drunken  Bacchus,"  now  in  the  Uffizi  Gal- 
lery ;  it  shows  a  great  knowledge  of  anatomy  in  one  so 
young,  and  the  expression  of  drunkenness  is  given  in  the 
most  natural  manner. 

But  the  work  that  established  his  fame  as  a  great 
sculptor  is  the  Pieta,  now  in  St.  Peter's  at  Rome  (Fig.  105). 
He  was  twenty-five  years  old  when  he  executed  this  work, 
and  from  that  time  was  acknowledged  to  be  the  greatest, 
sculptor  of  Italy — a  decision  which  has  never  been  reversed. 

Soon  after  this  Michael  Angelo  returned  to  Florence, 
and  his  first  important  work  was  a  Madonna,  now  at 
Bruges  ;  it  is  life-size,  and  one  of  his  finest  sculptures. 
There  was  at  this  time  an  immense  block  of  marble  which 
had  lain  many  years  in  the  yard  to  the  workshops  of  the 
cathedral.  Several  sculptors  had  talked  of  making  some- 
thing from  it,  and  now  Michael  Angelo  was  asked  by  the 
consuls  to  make  something  good  of  it.  He  had  just  taken 
an  order  for  fifteen  statues  for  the  Piccolomini  tomb  at 
Siena  ;  but  when  he  saw  the  immense  block  he  gave  up  the 
Siena  work,  and  contracted  to  make  a  statue  in  two  years. 
He  was  to  be  paid  six  gold  florins  a  month,  and  as  much> 
more  as  could  be  agreed  upon  when  the  work  was  done. 
He  first  made  a  model  in  wax  of  his  David  ;  it  was  very 
small,  and  is  now  in  the  Uf^zi.  In  the  beginning  of  1504, 
after  about  two  years  and  a  half  had  been  spent  upon  it,  the 
work  was  done,  and  a  discussion  then  arose  as  to  where  it 
should  be  placed. 

At  length  it  was  decided  to  put  it  where  Michael  Angelo- 
himself  wished  it  to  be,  next  the  gate  of  the  palace  where 
the  Judith  of  Donatello  then  stood.  The  statue  weighed 
eighteen  thousand  pounds,  and  its  removal  was  a  work  of 
great  importance.  I  shall  not  give  all  the  details  of  it  here, 
but  shall  quote  what  Grimm  says  :   "  The  erection  of  this. 


MICHAEL  ANGELO. 


20I 


David  was  like  an  oc- 
currence in  nature 
from  which  people  are 
accustomed  to  reckon. 
We  find  events  dated 
so  many  years  after 
the  erection  of  the 
giant.  It  was  men- 
tioned in  records  in 
which  there  was  not  a 
line  respecting  art." 

In   1527  the  statue 
was  injured  by  a  stone 
thrown  in  a  riot.      At 
length     it     began     to 
show  the  effect  of  time 
and  weather,   and  the 
people      of      Florence 
talked  of  removing  it 
for     better     preserva- 
tion.   There  was  much 
feeling    against    this  ; 
the  Florentines  feared 
that  misfortunes  would 
fall  upon  them  if  this 
great   work   were   dis- 
turbed ;  but  at  last,  in 
1873,  it  was  placed  in 
the  Academy  of  Fine 
Arts.   It  represents  the 
youthful  David  at  the 
moment  when  he  de- 
clares to  Goliath,    "  I 
come  unto  thee  in  the 
name  of   the  Lord  of 


IJitlt.ilWCUl. 


Fig.  106. — Michael  Angelo's  David 


202  SCULPTURE. 

Hosts."  The  beautiful  figure  is  muscular  and  pliant,  and 
the  face  is  full  of  courage.     (Fig.  io6.) 

About  the  beginning  of  the  year  1505  Pope  Julius  II. 
summoned  Michael  Angelo  to  Rome,  and  after  a  time  gave 
Jiim  a  commission  to  build  a  colossal  mausoleum  to  be 
directed  for  himself.  The  design  was  made  and  accepted, 
-and  then  Michael  Angelo  went  to  Carrara  to  select  marble  ; 
after  much  trouble  he  succeeded  in  getting  it  to  Rome, 
where  all  who  saw  it  were  astonished  at  the  size  of  the 
blocks.  Pope  Julius  was  delighted,  and  had  a  passage 
anade  from  the  palace  to  the  workshop  of  the  sculptor,  so 
'that  he  could  visit  the  artist  without  being  seen.  Other 
sculptors  now  became  jealous  of  Michael  Angelo,  and  when 
he  went  a  second  time  to  Carrara,  Bramante  persuaded 
the  pope  that  it  was  a  bad  sign  to  build  his  tomb  while 
he  was  still  living.  When  Michael  Angelo  returned  and 
the  workmen  he  had  hired  arrived  from  Florence,  he  found 
the  pope  much  changed  toward  him.  He  no  longer  hast- 
ened the  work,  neither  would  he  furnish  money  to  carry 
it  on. 

]\Iichael  Angelo  sought  the  pope  for  an  explanation, 
and  was  refused  an  audience.  He  wrote  a  letter  thus  : 
"  Most  Holy  Father,  I  was  this  morning  driven  from  the 
palace  by  the  order  of  your  Holiness.  If  you  require  me 
in  future  you  can  seek  me  elsewhere  than  in  Rome."  He 
ordered  a  Jew  to  sell  all  he  possessed  in  Rome,  and  started 
for  Florence,  and  stopped  not  until  he  was  on  the  ground 
of  Tuscany.  The  pope  sent  after  him,  but  as  he  was  a  citi- 
zen of  P'lorence  he  threatened  the  messengers  if  they 
touched  him.  He  said  he  had  been  treated  as  a  criminal, 
and  he  considered  himself  free  from  his  engagements,  and 
would  not  return  then  or  ever. 

When  he  reached  home  a  letter  came  to  the  Signory  of 
Florence  urging  his  return,  and  saying  that  he  should  be 
safe.     But     Michael    waited     until    the    third    letter    was 


MICHAEL  ANGELO.  203 

received,  and  only  consented  to  go  when  it  was  arranged 
that  he  should  be  sent  as  an  ambassador  of  Florence,  and 
be  under  the  protection  of  the  Florentine  Republic. 

In  November,  1506,  when  the  pope  had  taken  Bologna, 
he  sent  for  Michael  Angelo  to  come  to  him  there.  Michael 
Angelo  had  not  yet  seen  the  pope  since  he  left  Rome  in 
anger.  When  he  reached  Bologna  he  went  first  to  San 
Petronio  to  hear  mass.  A  servant  of  the  pope  recognized 
him  and  led  him  to  his  Holiness.  Julius  was  at  table,  but 
ordered  that  Michael  Angelo  should  come  in,  and  said  to 
him,  "  You  have  waited  thus  long,  it  seems,  till  we  should 
ourselves  come  to  seek  you."  Michael  Angelo  kneeled 
down  and  begged  his  pardon,  but  added  that  he  had 
remained  away  because  he  had  been  offended.  The  pope 
looked  at  him  doubtfully,  when  one  of  the  priests,  fearing 
what  would  happen,  advised  the  pope  not  to  judge  an  igno- 
rant artist  as  he  would  another  man.  Then  the  pope  turned 
upon  him  in  great  anger,  and  declaring  that  he  himself  was 
ignorant  and  miserable,  ordered  him  out  of  his  sight.  The 
poor  ecclesiastic  was  so  terrified  that  the  attendants  were 
obliged  to  carry  him  out,  and  then  the  pope  spoke  gra- 
ciously to  the  sculptor,  and  commanded  him  not  to  leave 
Bologna  without  his  permission.  The  pope  soon  gave  him 
an  order  for  a  colossal  statue  in  bronze  to  be  erected  in 
Bologna. 

The  first  cast  of  this  statue  failed,  and  the  work  was  not 
ready  to  be  put  in  its  place  until  February,  1508.  This 
being  done,  Michael  Angelo  returned  to  Florence,  where  he 
had  much  to  do;  but  Julius  soon  sent  for  him  to  go  to 
Rome,  and  insisted  that  he  should  paint  the  roof  of  the 
Sistine  Chapel,  which  occupied  him  a  long  time. 

In  1 5 13  Julius  II.  died,  and  Michael  Angelo  resumed 
his  work  upon  his  mausoleum.  The  pope  had  mentioned  it 
in  his  will,  and  his  heirs  wished  it  to  be  completed.  At 
this  time  he  probably  worked  upon  the  statue  of  Moses  and 


204  SCULPTURE. 

upon  the  two  chained  youths.      He  devoted  himself  to  the 
mausoleum  during  three  years. 

Leo  X.,  who  was  now  pope,  demanded  the  services  of 
Michael  Angelo  to  erect  a  facade  to  the  Church  of  San 
Lorenzo  in  Florence.  The  artist  objected  to  this  great 
work,  and  declared  that  he  was  bound  to  complete  the  tomb 
for  which  he  had  already  received  money.  But  Leo  insisted 
upon  his  going  to  Florence.  He  had  much  trouble  to  get 
his  marble  from  the  quarries — the  men  were  ill  there.  He 
was  ill  himself,  and  he  passed  a  year  of  great  anxiety  and 
trouble,  when  there  came  word  from  Rome  that  the  work 
milst  be  given  up  ;  the  building  was  postponed,  and  no 
payment  was  made  to  Michael  Angelo  !  He  was  much  dis- 
heartened, but  returned  to  his  work  on  the  mausoleum. 

About  1523,  when,  after  many  changes,  Cardinal  Medici 
was  pope,  the  work  at  San  Lorenzo  was  resumed.  But  in 
1525  the  pope  again  summoned  Michael  Angelo  to  Rome. 
The  heirs  of  Julius  were  complaining  of  delay,  but  at  last 
the  pope  insisted  upon  his  great  need  of  the  artist,  and 
again  he  was  sent  back  to  Florence,  where  the  cupola  of 
the  new  Sacristy  to  San  Lorenzo  was  soon  finished.  Great 
political  confusion  now  ensued,  and  little  can  be  said  of 
Michael  Angelo  as  a  sculptor  until  1530,  when  he  again 
resumed  his  work  on  the  Sacristy. 

He  worked  with  the  greatest  industry  and  rapidity,  and 
in  a  few  months  had  nearly  finished  the  four  colossal  figures 
which  rest  upon  the  sarcophagi  of  Lorenzo  and  Giuliano  de' 
Medici.  The  pope  was  forced  to  command  the  sculptor  to 
rest.  His  health  was  so  broken  by  the  sorrow  which  the 
political  condition  of  Florence  caused  him,  and  by  his  anx- 
iety about  the  mausoleum  of  Julius,  that  there  was  much 
danger  of  his  killing  himself  with  work  and  worry.  He 
went  to  Rome,  and  matters  were  more  satisfactorily  ar- 
ranged. He  returned  to  Florence,  and  labored  there  until 
1534,  when   Clement   VI L    died,    and   Michael   Angelo  left 


Fig.  107.— Giuliano  de'  Medici.     By  Michael  Angelo. 


2o6  SCULPTURE. 

his  work  in  San  Lorenzo,  never  to  resume  it.  Unfinished 
as  these  sculptures  are,  they  make  a  grand  part  of -the  won- 
derful works  of  this  great  man.  The  statues  of  the  two 
Medici  and  those  of  Morning,  Evening,  Day,  and  Night 
would  be  sufficient  to  establish  the  fame  of  an  artist  if  he 
had  done  nothing  more.     (Fig.  107.) 

Under  the  new  pope,  Paul  III.,  he  was  constantly  em- 
ployed as  a  painter,  and  architectural  labors  were  put  upon 
him,  so  that  as  a  sculptor  we  have  no  more  works  of  his  to 
mention  except  an  unfinished  group  which  was  in  his  studio 
at  the  time  of  his  death.  It  represents  the  dead  Christ 
upon  his  mother's  lap,  with  Joseph  of  Arimathea  standing 
by.  This  group  is  now  in  the  Church  of  Santa  Maria  del 
Fiore,  or  the  Cathedral  of  Florence.  The  mausoleum  of 
Julius  II.  caused  Michael  Angelo  and  others  so  much 
trouble  and  vexation  that  the  whole  affair  came  to  be 
known  as  the  "  tragedy  of  the  sepulchre."  When  Julius 
first  ordered  it  he  intended  to  place  it  in  St.  Peter's,  but  in 
the  end  it  was  erected  in  the  Church  of  San  Pietro  in  Vin- 
coli,  of  which  Julius  had  been  the  titular  cardinal.  Of  all 
the  monument  but  three  figures  can  really  be  called  the 
work  of  Michael  Angelo.  These  are  the  Leah  and  Rachel 
upon  the  lower  stage,  and  the  Moses,  which  is  one  of  the 
most  famous  statues  in  the  world.  Paul  III.,  with  eight 
cardinals,  once  visited  the  studio  of  the  sculptor  when  he 
was  at  work  upon  this  statue,  and  they  declared  that  this 
alone  was  sufficient  for  the  pope's  monument  (Fig.  108). 

The  life  of  Michael  Angelo  was  a  sad  one  ;  indeed,  it  is 
scarcely  possible  to  recount  a  more  pathetic  story  than  was 
his.  The  misfortunes  which  came  to  the  Medici  were  sharp 
griefs  to  him,  and  his  temperament  was  such  that  he  could 
not  forget  his  woes.  His  family,  too,  looked  to  him  for 
large  sums  of  money,  and  while  he  lived  most  frugally  they 
spent  his  earnings.  In  his  old  age  he  said,  "  Rich  as  I  am, 
I  have  always  lived  like  a  poor  man." 


Fig.  io8.— Statue  of  Moses.     By  Michael  Angela. 


208  SCULPTURE. 

In  1529,  when  Florence  was  under  great  political  excite- 
ment, Michael  Angelo  was  appointed  superintendent  of  all 
the  fortifications  of  the  Florentine  territory.  In  the  midst 
of  his  duties  he  became  aware  of  facts  which  determined 
him  to  fly.  He  went  to  Venice,  and  was  proscribed  as  a 
rebel.  We  cannot  stay  here  to  inquire  as  to  his  wisdom  in 
this,  but  must  go  on  to  say  that  at  length  he  was  so  much 
needed  that  he  was  persuaded  to  return.  Then  he  had  the 
dreadful  experiences  of  hope  and  fear,  sickness  and  famine, 
and  all  the  horrors  of  a  siege,  only  to  see  his  beloved  home 
deprived  of  its  freedom,  and  in  the  possession  of  those 
whom  he  despised  and  hated.  To  Michael  Angelo  this  was 
far  more  bitter  than  any  personal  sorrow  ;  he  never  recov- 
ered from  its  effects,  and  it  was  immediately  after  this  that 
he  worked  in  the  Sacristy  of  San  Lorenzo  as  if  trying  to  kill 
himself. 

He  was  bold  as  he  was  angry.  He  was  treated  kindly, 
and  advised  to  forget  the  past  ;  but  he  never  concealed  his 
views.  When  his  statue  of  Night  was  exhibited,  verses 
were  put  upon  it,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  time  ;  one 
verse  read,  "  Night,  whom  you  see  slumbering  here  so 
charmingly,  has  been  carved  by  an  angel,  in  marble.  She 
sleeps,  she  lives  ;  waken  her,  if  you  will  not  believe  it,  and 
she  will  speak." 

To  this  Michael  Angelo  replied,  "  Sleep  is  dear  to  me, 
and  still  more  that  I  am  stone,  so  long  as  dishonor  and 
shame  last  among  us  ;  the  happiest  fate  is  to  see,  to  hear 
nothing  ;  for  this  reason  waken  me  not.  I  pray  you,  speak 
gently."  He  had  great  courage  to  speak  his  anger  thus 
publicly  in  the  midst  of  those  who  could  easily  destroy  him. 

In  1537  or  1538  his  father  died,  and  the  artist  suffered 
terribly  from  his  grief.      He  wrote  a  sonnet  beginning  : 

'*  Already  had  I  wept  and  sighed  so  much. 
I  thought  all  grief  forever  at  an  end, 
Exhaled  in  si^hs,  shed  forth  in  ])itter  tears." 


MICHAEL  ANGELO.  209 

The  religious  views  of  Michael  Angelo  were  very  broad,  and 
he  had  \  trustful  and  obedient  dependence  upon  God,  in 
whose  mercy  and  love  he  gratefully  rested  with  the  simple 
faith  of  a  child.     It  was  not  far  from  the  time  when  his  father 
died  that  Michael  Angelo  f^rst  met  Vittoria  Colonna.    He  was 
now  more  than  sixty  years  old  ;  and  though  his  poems  show 
that  he  had  loved  children  and  women  all  his  life,  yet  he  had 
allowed  himself  no  attachments  ;  his  life  had  been  lonely 
and  alone.     Now,  at  this  late  hour,  he  yielded  his  heart  to 
this  beautiful,   gifted  woman,  who  returned   his   friendship 
with  the  fullest  esteem.     During  these  years  he  was  happier 
than  he  had  ever  been.      But  in  1541  she  fell  under  the  sus- 
picion of  the  Inquisition,  and  was  obliged  to  leave  Rome. 

During  two  years  they  wrote  constantly  to  each  other, 
and  each  sent  to  the  other  the  sonnets  they  wrote.     At  this 
time   all    Italy   read   the   poems   of  Vittoria,  and   those   of 
Michael  Angelo  still   stand  the  test  of  time.     In  them  he 
shows  the   blessed   effect   of  her  influence   over  him.     At 
length  she  returned  to  Rome  and  entered  a  convent,  where 
she^'died  in  1547.      Michael  Angelo  was  with  her  to  the  last, 
and  years  later  he  declared  that  he   regretted   nothing  so 
much  as  that  he  had  only  kissed  her  hand,  and  not  her  fore- 
head  or  cheeks   in   that   last   hour.      His  loss   was  far  too 
great    to    be    told.      (An  engraving  of  a  portrait  of^  Michael 
Angelo  can  be  seen  in  Mrs.  Clement's  "  Painting,"  p.  95.) 
In   the  year   following  Vittoria's   death   all    the   hopes 
which  he  had  cherished  for  the  freedom  of  Florence  were 
crushed.      High  honors  were  offered  him  to  induce  him  to 
return  there,  but  he  would  not  go.      His  health  failed,  his 
sadness  increased,  and  his  writings  show  how  constantly  he 
mourned  for  Vittoria.     After  this  he  did  much  work  as  an 
architect,  and  held  the  post  of  director  of  the  building  of 
St.  Peter's.      He  superintended  the  erection  of  the  statue 
of  Marcus  Aurelius,  and  completed  the  Farnese  Palace,  and 
had  many  improvements  m  mind. 


2IO  SCULPTURE. 

Now,  in  his  old  age,  he  was  authority  itself  in  Rome. 
He  had  no  rival,  and  his  advice  was  sought  by  artists  as 
well  as  others.  He  lived  very  simply  :  he  dined  alone,  and 
received  his  visitors  in  the  plainest  manner.  Anatomy, 
which  had  always  been  a  passion  with  him,  was  now  his 
chief  pursuit.  He  made  many  dissections  of  animals,  and 
was  grateful  when  a  human  subject  could  be  allowed  him. 

When  he  could  not  sleep  he  would  get  up  at  night  and 
Avork  upon  the  group  of  which  we  have  spoken  ;  he  had  a 
cap  with  a  candle  in  it,  so  that  it  cast  a  light  upon  his  work. 
Vasari  once  entered  when  he  was  at  work  upon  this  group, 
and  had  a  lantern  in  his  hand  ;  he  dropped  it  purposely,  so 
that  the  sculpture  should  not  be  seen,  and  said  :  "  I  am  so 
old  that  death  often  pulls  me  by  the  coat  to  come  to  him, 
and  some  day  I  shall  fall  down  like  this  lantern,  and  my 
last  spark  of  life  will  be  extinguished." 

There  are  many  very  interesting  circumstances  told  of  his 
last  years  and  his  strength  of  mind,  and  the  work  which  he 
did  was  wonderful  ;  but  we  have  not  space  to  recount  it  here. 

At  length,  in  February,  1564,  when  almost  ninety  years 
old,  he  died.  He  had  asked  to  be  buried  in  Florence. 
His  friends  feared  that  this  would  be  opposed,  so  they  held 
burial-services  in  Rome,  and  his  body  was  afterward  carried 
through  the  gates  as  merchandise.  In  Florence  the  body 
was  first  laid  in  San  Piero  Maggiore,  and  on  Sunday,  at 
evening,  the  artists  assembled,  and  forming  a  procession, 
proceeded  to  Santa  Croce,  where  he  was  buried.  The 
younger  artists  bore  the  bier  upon  their  shoulders,  and  the 
older  ones  carried  torches  to  light  the  way.  A  great  multi- 
tude followed  the  procession,  and  in  the  Sacristy  of  Santa 
Croce  the  coffin  was  opened  ;  though  three  weeks  had 
passed  since  his  death,  his  face  appeared  as  if  he  had  just 
died  ;  the  crowd  was  very  great,  but  all  was  quiet,  and  be- 
fore morning  it  had  dispersed.  The  Duke  had  thought  that 
a  public  funeral  would  recall  old  memories,  and  might  cause 


MICHAEL   AXGELO.  211 

a  disturbance  ;  but  Michael  Angelo  had  left  Florence  thirty 
years  before  his  death,  '^nd  his  connection  with  the  city  was 
forgotten  by  many. 

The  July  following  was  appointed  for  a  memorial  ser- 
vice in  his  honor  ;  San  Lorenzo  was  splendidly  decorated  ; 
Varchi  delivered  an  oration.  Leonardo,  his  nephew, 
erected  a  monument  to  him  in  Santa  Croce,  for  which  the 
Duke  gave  the  marble.  His  statue  stands  in  the  court  of 
the  Uffizi  with  those  of  other  great  Florentines,  but  with 
no  especial  prominence.  His  house  in  the  Ghibelline  Street 
is  preserved  as  a  museum,  and  visitors  there  see  many 
mementos  of  this  great  man. 

In  1875  a  grand  festival  was  held  in  Florence  to  cele- 
brate the  four  hundredth  anniversary  of  his  birth.  The 
ceremonies  were  impressive,  and  certain  documents  relating 
to  his  life  which  had  never  been  opened,  by  command  of 
the  king,  were  given  to  suitable  persons  for  examination. 
Mr.  Heath  Wilson,  an  English  artist,  then  residing  at  Flor- 
ence, wrote  a  new  life  of  Michael  Angelo,  and  the  last  sig- 
nature which  Victor  Emmanuel  wrote  before  his  death  was 
upon  the  paper  which  conferred  on  Mr.  Wilson  the  Order 
of  the  Corona  d' Italia,  given  as  a  recognition  of  his  services 
in  writing  this  book. 

The  national  pride  in  Michael  Angelo  is  very  strong. 
**  All  Italians  feel  that  he  occupies  the  third  place  by  the 
side  of  Dante  and  Raphael,  and  forms  with  them  a  triumvi- 
rate of  the  greatest  men  produced  by  their  country — a 
poet,  a  painter,  and  one  who  was  great  in  all  arts.  Who 
would  place  a  general  or  a  statesman  by  their  side  as  equal  to 
them  ?     It  is  art  alone  which  marks  the  prime  of  nations.** 

The  genius  of  Michael  Angelo  and  his  spirit  were  power- 
ful forces.  They  pervaded  the  whole  art  of  Italy  to  such 
an  extent  that  it  may  be  said  that  all  sculptors  were  his 
imitators,  both  while  he  lived  and  after  his  death.  He 
loved  to  treat  strong  subjects,  such  as  demanded  violent 


212  SCULPTURE. 

movement  and  unusual  positions.  It  was  only  a  man  of 
his  genius  who  could  raise  such  subjects  above  grotesque- 
ness  and  the  one  effect  of  strange  and  unnatural  exaggera- 
tion. As  we  look  over  all  his  works  it  seems  as  if  the  idea 
of  beauty  and  such  things  as  are  pleasing  to  the  ordinary 
mind  rarely,  if  ever,  came  to  his  mind.  Noble  feeling, 
depth  of  thought,  strength,  and  grandeur  are  the  associa- 
tions which  we  have  with  him,  and  in  the  hands  of  weaker 
men,  as  his  imitators  were,  these  subjects  became  barren, 
hollow  displays  of  distorted  limbs  and  soulless  heads  and 
faces. 

The  result  is,  that  there  is  little  to  be  said  of  the  imme- 
diate followers  of  this  great  man.  GUGLIELMO  BELLA 
Porta  was  one  of  his  most  able  scholars,  and  his  chief 
work  was  a  monument  to  Pope  Paul  III.  in  the  Church  of 
St.  Peter's.  The  figure  of  the  pope  is  in  bronze,  is  seated, 
and  holding  the  right  hand  in  benediction.  It  is  dignified 
and  well  designed.  The  figures  of  Justice  and  Prudence 
are  not  as  good,  and  two  others,  Peace  and  Abundance, 
which  were  a  part  of  this  work,  but  are  now  in  the  Farnese 
Palace,  lack  power,  and  show  an  attempt  at  a  representa- 
tion of  mere  physical  beauty. 

Baccio  Bandinelli  (1487-15 59)  is  more  noticeable  for 
his  hatred  of  Michael  Angelo  than  for  any  other  character- 
istic. He  was  a  native  of  Florence  and  a  friend  of  Leo- 
nardo da  Vinci.  He  was  powerful  in  his  design  and  bold  in 
his  treatment  of  his  subjects,  but  he  was  full  of  affectation 
and  mannerisms  in  his  execution  of  his  works.  He  was 
false  and  envious,  and  his  one  good  quality  was  that  of  in- 
dustry. His  best  works  are  on  the  screen  of  the  high-altar 
in  the  Cathedral  of  Florence,  a  relief  on  a  pedestal  in  the 
Piazza  of  San  Lorenzo,  in  Florence,  and  a  group  in  the 
Church  of  the  Annunziata,  which  he  intended  for  his  own 
monument  ;  the  subject  is  Nicodcmus  supporting  Christ, 
and  the  Nicodcmus  is  a  portrait  of  Bandinelli  himself. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

EUROPEAN   SCULPTURE  FROM   MICHAEL  ANGELO  TO 

CANOVA. 

NOT  only  Italian  artists  attempted  to  follow  the  great 
sculptor  of  Italy,  but  those  of  other  nations  flocked 
to  Rome,  and  whatever  ideas  they  may  have  had  before 
reaching  that  city  they  seemed  to  lose  them  all  and  to  aim 
simply  at  one  thing-to  be  Michaelangeloesque.  _ 

Giovanni  da  Bologna  (i  529-1608)  was  born  m  Douau 
in  Flanders,  and  was  called  II  Fiammingo  for  this  reason. 
Giovanni  was  intended  for  a  notary  by  his  father,  who 
planned  his  education  with  that  end  in  view  ;  but  the  boy  s 
passion  for  sculpture  was  so  great  that  the  father  was 
obliged  to  yield  to  it.  and  placed  him  under  the  .nstruct.on 
of  a  sculptor  named  Bench,  who  had  studied  in  Italy  Later 
Giovanni  went  to  Rome,  and  finally  settled  m  Florence, 
where  his  most  important  works  remain. 

He  was  an  imitator  of  Michael  Angelo,  and  one  of  his 
best  imitators  ;  but  when  his  works  are  compared  with 
those  of  the  great  master,  or  with  the  masterpieces  of_ the 
fifteenth  century,  we  see  a  decline  in  them.  In  religious 
subjects  Giovanni  was  not  at  home  ;  his  most  successfu 
works  were  those  which  represented  sentiment  or  abstract 
,deas,  because  on  them  he  could  lavish  his  skill  m  execu- 
^ion  and  use  ornaments  that  did  not  suit  the  simplicity  of 
'religious  subjects.     In  the  Loggia  de'  Lanzi,  at  Florence, 


214  SCULPTURE. 

there  arc  two  groups  by  him,  the  Rape  of  the  Sabines  and 
Hercules  and  Nessus.  In  the  Piazza  della  Signoria  is  his 
excellent  statue  of  Duke  Cosmo  I.,  and  in  the  Uffizi  Gal- 
lery a  bronze  statue  of  Mercury.  The  Rape  of  the  Sabines 
is  his  masterpiece,  and  the  Mercury  is  one  of  the  best 
works  of  its  kind  since  the  days  of  classic  art.  It  is  the 
favorite  Mercury  of  the  world,  and  has  been  frequently 
copied.  It  is  seen  in  many  galleries  and  collections  in  its 
original  size,  and  a  small  copy  is  much  used  in  private 
houses.     (Fig.  109.) 

Giovanni  was  especially  happy  in  his  designs  for  foun- 
tains, and  that  which  he  erected  in  Bologna,  in  1564,  in 
front  of  the  Palazzo  Pubblico,  is  a  splendid  work  of  this 
kind.  The  statue  of  Neptune  at  its  summit  is  stately  and 
free  in  jt§  action  ;  the  children  are  charming  and  life-like, 
and  the  Sirens  at  the  base  give  an  harmonious  finish  and 
complete  the  outline  with  easy  grace. 

He  also  erected  a  magnificent  fountain  in  the  island  of 
the  Boboli  Gardens.  In  the  Palazzo  Vecchio  is  a  marble 
group  by  Giovanni  representing  Virtue  conquering  Vice. 
At  Petraja  there  is  a  beautiful  Venus  crowning  a  fountain 
remarkable  for  grace  and  delicacy,  and,  all  in  all,  his  works 
prove  him  to  have  been  the  best  sculptor  of  his  own  time. 
Tuscany  may  claim  him  and  be  proud  of  him,  for  he  was 
far  more  her  son  than  that  of  his  native  Flanders. 

Giovanni  da  Bologna  was  far  less  successful  in  reliefs 
than  in  statues,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  bronze  gates  to  the 
Cathedral  of  Pisa,  which  he  made  in  the  last  years  of  his 
life.  In  his  character  this  master  was  attractive  and  much 
beloved  by  his  friends.  One  of  them  wrote  of  him  :  "  The 
best  fellow  in  the  world,  not  in  the  least  covetous,  as  he 
shows  by  his  poverty  ;  filled  with  a  love  of  glor>%  and  am- 
bitious of  rivalling  Michael  Angelo. " 

Giovanni  decorated  a  chapel  in  the  Church  of  the  An- 
nunziata  with  several  reliefs  in  bronze  and  with  a  crucifix  ; 


Fig.   log. — Mercury.     By  Giovanni  da  Bologna. 


2l6  SCULPTURE. 

he  not  only  wished  to  be  buried  here  himself,  as  he  was, 
but  he  also  desired  to  provide  a  place  of  burial  for  any  of 
his  countrymen  who  might  die  in  Florence.  The  chapel  is 
called  that  of  the  Madonna  del  Soccorso. 

The  decline  of  sculpture  in  Italy  at  this  period  makes  its 
study  so  unpromising  that  it  is  a  pleasure  to  turn  to  France, 
where  the  works  of  jEAN  GoujON  show  that  he  had  the 
true  idea  of  sculpture  in  relief.  From  1555  to  1562  this 
sculptor  was  employed  on  the  works  at  the  Louvre,  and 
during  the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew  he  was  shot  while 
on  a  scaffold  quietly  working  at  a  bas-relief  on  that  palace. 

Goujon  was  an  architect  as  well  as  a  sculptor,  and  also  a 
medal  engraver,  as  is  shown  by  the  curious  and  rare  medal 
which  he  made  for  Catherine  de'  Medici.  Many  of  his 
works  are  preserved  in  different  parts  of  France,  and  some 
bas-reliefs  in  the  Museum  of  the  Louvre  are  excellent  speci- 
mens of  his  style. 

One  also  sees  in  France  many  works  by  GERMAIN 
PiLON,  who  died  in  1590.  He  executed  the  monument  to 
Francis  L,  and  took  a  part  in  that  of  Henry  H.  and  Cath- 
erine de'  Medici  at  the  Church  of  St.  Denis.  He  was  the 
sculptor  of  the  group  of  the  three  Graces  in  the  Louvre, 
which  formerly  bore  an  urn  containing  the  heart  of 
Henry  H.,  and  was  in  the  Church  of  the  Celestines. 

But  the  sculptors  of  France  at  this  time  are  not  of  such 
interest  as  to  hold  our  attention  long.  There  was  a  certain 
amount  of  spirit  in  their  decorations  of  palaces  and  tombs, 
but  there  were  no  men  of  great  genius,  and  no  splendid 
works  upon  which  we  can  dwell  with  pleasure  or  profit. 

In  Germany,  too,  while  there  was  much  activity  in 
sculpture,  and  public  fountains  and  luxurious  palaces  and 
rich  ornaments  employed  many  artists,  yet  there  was  no 
originality  or  freshness  in  these  works,  and  they  fell  below 
those  of  the  past.  Bronzes  are  still  made  at  Nuremberg, 
but   they   only   serve  to   make  one  regret   that  they  are  so 


IN   SPAIN. 


217 


inferior  to  those  of  earlier  days  ;  and  nowhere  in  all  Ger- 
many does  any  one  artist  stand  out  and  present  a  man  to 
be  studied  in  his  works  or  remembered  as  one  of  the  gifted 
of  the  earth.  And  yet  a  list  of  the  names  of  German 
sculptors  of  this  time  would  be  very  long,  for  all  over  the 
land  churches  were  being  decorated,  monuments  built,  and 
statues  and  fountains  erected. 

In  England  the  best  sculpture  of  the  sixteenth  century 
was  seen  in  the  portrait  statues  on  monuments,  and  we  find 
no  great  artists  there  of  whom  to  give  an  account. 

In  Spain  Alonso  Berruguete  (1480-1561),  who  was 
the  most  eminent  artist  of  his  time,  had  introduced  the 
Italian  manner.     He  went  to  Italy  about  1503,  and  studied 


Fig.  1 10. — Relief  by  Berruguete.     Valiadolid. 


in  Rome  and  Florence  during  seventeen  years.  This  was 
at  the  time  when  Italian  sculpture  was  at  the  height  of  its 
excellence  ;   and  Berruguete   returned   to   Spain  filled  with 


2i8  SCULPTURE. 

the  purest  and  best  conceptions  of  what  art  should  be,  and 
the  ends  it  should  serve.  He  has  been  called  the  Michael 
Angelo  of  Spain,  because  he  was  an  architect,  painter,  and 

sculptor. 

Upon  his  return  to  Spain  he  was  appointed  painter  and 
sculptor  to  Charles  V.  Among  his  most  celebrated  works 
in  sculpture  are  the  rehefs  in  the  choir  of  the  Cathedral  at 
Toledo  ;  the  altar  in  the  Church  of  San  Benito  el  Real  at 
Valladolid  (Fig.  iio),  for  which  he  was  paid  forty-four  hun- 
dred ducats,  and  his  sculptures  in  the  CoUegio  Mayor  at 
Salamanca.  His  final  work  was  a  monument  to  the  Car- 
dinal and  Grand  Inquisitor,  Don  Juan  de  Tavera,  which  is 
in  the  Church  of  the  Hospital  of  St.  John  at  Toledo.  The 
sarcophagus  is  ornamented  by  reliefs  from  the  story  of  John 
the  Baptist,  which  are  executed  in  an  excellent  manner, 
simple  and  expressive. 

Other  Spanish  sculptors  were  ESTEBAN  JORDAN,  an 
eminent  wood-carver,  Gregorio  HERNANDEZ  (i 566-1636), 
who  has  been  called  "  the  sculptor  of  religion."  His  works 
are  so  full  of  a  spirit  of  devotion  that  they  seem  to  have 
been  executed  under  an  inspiration.  Hernandez  was  very 
devout  in  his  life,  and  did  many  works  of  charity  ;  he  often 
provided  decent  burial  for  the  very  poor  who  died  without 
friends  who  could  bury  them. 

Many  of  his  works  have  been  removed  from  the  chapels 
for  which  they  were  designed,  and  are  now  in  the  Museum 
of  Valladolid,  where  they  are  not  as  effective  as  when 
placed  in  their  original  positions.  He  is  superior  to  other 
Spanish  sculptors  in  his  representation  of  nude  figures  and 
in  the  grandeur  of  his  expression. 

Juan  DE  Juni  (died  1614)  studied  in  Italy,  and  acquired 
much  mannerism  ;  his  works  are  seen  in  Valladolid. 

Juan  Martinez  Montanes  (died  1650)  was  a  famous 
sculptor,  and  excelled  in  figures  of  children  and  cherubs. 
His  conceptions  had  much  beauty  and  depth  of  feeling,  and 


ALONSO   CANO.  219 

his  draperies  were  most  graceful  ;  and  to  this  power  of 
thinking  out  clearly  and  well  the  subject  he  wished  to  rep- 
resent he  added  the  ability  to  do  his  work  in  an  artistic 
manner,  and  to  give  it  an  elegance  of  finish  without  taking 
away  its  strength.  A  Conception  by  him,  in  the  Cathedral 
of  Seville,  is  a  noble  work,  and  in  the  university  church  of 
the  same  city  there  is  an  altar  which  is  one  of  his  important 
works.  Other  sculptures  by  Montanes  are  in  the  Museum 
of  Seville. 

The  great  AlonsO  Cano  (1601-1667)  was  a  pupil  of 
Montanes  in  sculpture,  and,  like  so  many  other  artists  of  his 
time,  was  a  painter  and  architect  as  well  as  a  sculptor.  His 
personal  history  is  very  peculiar.  He  was  a  man  of  violent 
temper,  and  was  often  involved  in  serious  quarrels.  He 
was  obliged  to  flee  from  Granada  to  Madrid  on  account  of 
a  duel,  and  when  his  wife  was  found  murdered  in  her  bed 
he  was  suspected  of  the  crime.  In  spite  of  all  this  he  took 
priest's  orders,  and  was  appointed  to  a  canonry  in  the  Cathe- 
dral of  Granada  ;  but  on  account  of  his  temper  he  was  de- 
prived of  this  office  by  the  chapter  of  the  cathedral.  He 
was  so  angry  at  this  that  he  would  do  no  more  work  for 
the  cathedral. 

He  devoted  the  remainder  of  his  life  to  religious  and 
charitable  works.  He  gave  away  the  money  he  earned  as 
soon  as  he  received  it,  and  when  he  had  no  money  to  give 
away  he  was  in  the  habit  of  making  drawings,  which  he 
signed  and  marked  with  a  suitable  price  ;  these  he  gave  to 
the  person  he  desired  to  assist,  and  recommended  some 
person  to  whom  application  to  buy  the  work  could  be 
made.  After  his  death  a  large  number  of  these  charitable 
works  was  collected. 

He  hated  Jews  with  such  hatred  that  he  could  not 
endure  to  look  at  one,  and  many  strange  stories  are  told  of 
him  in  connection  with  these  people. 

He  loved  his  chisel  better  than  his  brush,  and  was  ac- 


220  SCULPTURE. 

customed  to  say  that  when  weary  he  carved  for  rest.  One 
of  his  pupils  expressed  great  surprise  at  this,  when  Cano 
answered,  ''  Blockhead,  don't  you  perceive  that  to  create 
form  and  relief  on  a  flat  surface  is  a  greater  service  than  to 
fashion  one  shape  into  another?" 

The  most  beautiful  sculpture  by  Cano  which  remains  is 
a  Virgin  about  a  foot  high  in  the  Sacristy  of  the  Cathedral 
of  Granada,  where  there  are  several  other  statuettes  by 
him.  These  are  colored  in  a  manner  which  the  Spaniards 
call  "  estofado  ;"  it  has  the  effect  to  soften  the  whole  ap- 
pearance of  the  works,  like  an  enamel.  At  the  entrance  of 
the  choir  of  the  cathedral  there  are  two  colossal  busts  by 
Cano  ;  they  are  grand  works,  and  are  called  Adam  and  Eve. 

Pedro  Roldan  (1624-1700),  born  at  Seville,  is  an  inter- 
esting sculptor  because  of  his  work,  and  on  account  of  his 
being  the  last  one  whose  manner  was  like  that  of  Juni  and 
Hernandez.  His  first  celebrated  work  was  the  high-altar 
in  the  chapel  of  the  Biscayans  in  the  Franciscan  convent. 
When  the  Caridad,  or  Hospital  of  Charity,  was  restored, 
Roldan  executed  the  last  great  work  in  painted  sculpture  ; 
it  was  an  immense  piece  for  the  centre  of  the  retablo  of  the 
high-altar  of  the  church,  and  represented  the  Entombment 
of  Christ. 

Seville  abounds  in  his  works,  and  he  executed  bas-reliefs 
in  stone  for  the  exterior  of  the  Cathedral  at  Jaen.  He  was 
so  devoted  to  his  art  that  he  felt  every  moment  to  be  lost 
that  was  not  spent  in  its  service.  He  married  a  lady  of 
good  family,  and  lived  in  the  country  ;  when  obliged  to  go 
to  Seville  he  was  accustomed  to  carry  a  lump  of  clay,  and 
model  from  it  as  he  rode  along.  Roldan  was  not  by  any 
means  the  best  of  Spanish  sculptors,  but  he  had  great  skill 
in  the  composition  of  his  works,  and  the  draperies  and  all 
the  details  were  carefully  studied.  His  daughter,  Dofla 
Luisa  Roldan,  studied  sculpture  under  her  father's  instruc- 
tion, and  became  a  good  artist  ;  he  was  accustomed  to  allow 


DECLINE  OF  SCULPTURE.  221 

her  to  superintend  her  studio  and  his  pupils.  _  She  often 
aided  him  by  her  suggestions,  and  on  °- °«-.'°"'7^^f"  ^ 
statue  that  he  had  made  was  rejected,  she  pomted  out  to 
r^cenain  anatomical  defects  which  he  remedied  an  the 
whole  appearance  of  the  work  was  so  changed  that  .t  «as 
Thought  to  be  new,  and  was  accepted  for  the  place  for 
which  it  had  been  ordered.  .     . 

The  works  executed  by  Dona  Luisa  were  pnnapdly 
smal  figures  of  the  Virgin,  the  Adoration  of  the  Shepherds 
and  kindred  subjects.     Several  of  these  were  Presented  to 
King  Chines  II!,  and  he  was  so  pleased  by  them  that  he 
ordered  a  Hfe-size  statue  of  St.  Michael  for  the  Church  of 
the  Escorial.     She  executed  this  to  his  satisfacfon,  and  he 
hen  appointed  her  sculptress  in  ordinary  to  the  kmg.     She 
died  a' Madrid  in  ,704,  surviving  her  faU.er  but  four  years. 
She  left  works  in  various  convents  and  churches. 

In  Italy  at  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century  a 
new  era  in  sculpture  was  inaugurated.  Art  was  now 
required  to  serve  the  Church  in  the  way  of  appealing  to 
e'ntiments  and  feeling  in  a  far  coarser  and  n.ore  se-a  : 
a  manner  than  formerly.  Paintmg  was  -■^'^^  ^o^^^e  /"^ 
noses  far  more  than  sculpture,  and  it  had  been  raised  to 
grea  heights,  in  Spain,  by  Murillo,  in  the  North  by  Ru- 
fens  and  lis  followers,  and  in  Italy  by  numerous  masters 

Labke    says   of   this   period:   "All   that   was  now  de 
manded  of  art  was  effect  and  feeling  at  any  price.     The  one 
r  attained  through  the  other.     A  Passi°nate  excitemen 

pulsates  throughout  all  artistic  -°^'^V' ,'''% tnl?  devo 
The  former  altar-pieces  no  longer  satisfied  Longing,  devo 
tional  ardor,  passionate  rapture,  enthusiastic  ectasy-these 
are  the  aim  of  the  new  art.  No  longer  the  solemn  dign^y 
of  the  saint,  but  the  nervous  visions  of  enraptured  monks, 
e  it  ideal.  It  delights  in  thrilling  dehneations  of  martr 
dom  seeking  to  render  such  scenes  as  effective  and  ouch 
fng^s  possible.     A  desire  for  substantial  power,  a  political- 


222  SCULPTURE. 


religious   tendency,  had   taken   possession   of   art,  and   had 
adapted  it  to  its  own  objects.     That,  under  such  circum- 
stances, painting  reaches  a  new  and  truly  artistic  importance 
may  be  traced  above  all  to  the  great  masters  who  now  culti- 
vated the  art,  and  still  more  to  the  tone  of  the  age,  which 
promoted  it  in  a  rare  measure.   .   .  .  The  same  spirit,  how- 
ever, which  imparted  such  genuine  importance  to  painting 
produced   the   ruin   of  sculpture.     This   epoch,  more   than 
any  other,  is  a  proof  that  the  greatest  men  of  talent,  ap- 
pearing in  a  perverted  age,  are  carried  by  their  very  genius- 
all  the  more  certainly  to  ruin.     All  that,  in  a  more  favor- 
able period,  would  have  raised  them  to  be  stars  in  the  art 
firmament,  now  made  them  fall  like  some  ignis  fatuus,  the 
brilliant  light  of  which  owes  its  illusory  existence  only  to- 
miasma.     This  striking  fact  appears,  at  first  sight,  inexplic- 
able ;  but  it  is  easy  to  understand,  if  we  consider  the  differ- 
ent  character  of  the   two  arts.      Plastic   art  had  formerly 
emulated    painting,    and    thus,    especially    in    relief,    had 
suffered   unmistakable   injury   to   its   own   peculiar   nature. 
At  that  time,  however,  painting  itself  was  full  of  architec- 
tural severity  and   plastic   nobleness  of  form.      Now,  when 
everything  depended  on  striking  effect  and  speaking  deline- 
ation  of  passionate    emotions,    it   w^as   compelled   to   have 
recourse  to   naturalistic    representation,    to    freer   arrange- 
ments and   to   more  striking  forms  that   emulated  reality. 
If,  however,  sculpture,  which  could  not  keep  pace  with  its 
rival  in  the  enamelled  coloring  and  mysterious  charm  of  the 
chiaro-osciiro  which  it  brought  into  the  field,  would,  in  any- 
wise, do  the  same  as   painting,  it  was  compelled  to  plunge 
regardlessly  into  the  same  naturalism  of  forms  and  into  the 
same  bold  display  of  passion  with  which  painting  produced 
such   grand  effects.     And  this   sculpture   did   without   the 
slightest  scruple,  and   in   this  lack  of  an  artistic  conscience 
its  whole  glory  perished.      It  is  true  in  this  passion  for  ex- 
cited compositions  an  excess  of  splendid  works  were  pro- 


BERNINI.  223 

duced  ;  it  is  true  immense  resources  were  expended,  and 
able  artists  were  employed  ;  but  such  inner  hoUowness  stares 
at  us  with  inanimate  eye  from  the  greater  number  of  these 
works  that  we  turn  from  them  with  repugnance,  and  even 
often  with  disgust." 

The  artist  who  first  met  this  new  demand  upon  sculp- 
ture, and  may  be  called  the  founder  of  a  new  style,  was 
Giovanni  Lorenzo  Bernini  (i 598-1680),  a  very  gifted 
man.  When  but  ten  years  old  this  remarkable  genius  was 
known  as  a  prodigy  in  art,  and  it  was  at  this  early  age  that 
his  father  took  him  to  Rome.  Pope  Paul  V.  was  soon  in- 
terested in  him,  and  Cardinal  Barberini  assisted  him  in  his 
studies  ;  from  this  fortunate  beginning  all  through  his  life 
good  fortune  attended  his  steps.  He  lived  through  the 
pontificate  of  nine  popes,  and  was  always  in  favor  with  the 
reigning  head  of  the  Church.  This  gave  him  the  opportu- 
nity to  fill  Rome  with  his  works,  and  he  imprinted  himself 
upon  the  art  of  the  Eternal  City  ;  no  artist  since  the  time 
of  Michael  Angelo  held  such  sway,  and  Bernini  acquired  his 
power  easily,  while  the  grand  Michael  Angelo  was  disputed 
at  every  step,  and  fought  a  long,  hard  battle  before  he  was 
allowed  to  take  the  place  which  was  so  clearly  his  by  right. 

The  fame  of  Bernini  extended  to  other  lands,  and  he 
was  invited  to  France,  where  he  went  when  sixty-eight 
years  old,  accompanied  by  one  of  his  sons  and  a  numerous 
retinue.  He  was  loaded  with  favors,  and  received  large 
sums  of  money  and  many  valuable  presents.  In  Rome, 
too,  he  was  much  favored  ;  he  held  several  church  ben- 
efices, and  his  son  was  made  a  Canon  of  Santa  Maria  Mag- 
giore  ;  and  it  was  in  this  church  that  Bernini  was  buried 
with  great  magnificence,  as  became  his  position  and  his 
wealth,  for  he  left  the  immense  fortune  of  four  hundred 
thousand  Roman  crowns. 

Bernini  had  great  versatility  of   talent,   a   remarkable 
imagination  and  power  of  conceiving  his  subjects  clearly, 


224  SCULPTURE. 

and,  more  than  all,  he  had  marvellous  power  of  execution 
and  compelling  his  marble  to  show  forth  his  thought.  It 
has  been  said  that  marble  was  like  wax  or  clay  beneath  his 
hand.  He  was  subject  to  no  rules  ;  indeed,  he  believed 
that  an  artist  must  set  aside  all  rules  if  he  would  excel. 
This  sounds  very  fascinating,  but  a  study  of  Bernini's  works 
will  show  that  it  is  a  deceitful  maxim.  A  man  of  small 
talent  could  do  nothing  in  this  way,  and  even  Bernini,  who 
without  doubt  had  great  gifts,  often  failed  to  make  up  in 
any  way  for  the  sins  against  rules  of  which  he  was  guilty. 
Westmacott,  in  his  writing  upon  sculpture,  says  it  would 
have  been  better  for  art  if  Bernini  had  never  lived  ;  and  it  is 
true  that  in  his  struggle  for  effect  he  was  an  injury  rather 
than  a  benefit  to  the  art  of  his  own  day  and  the  succeeding 
years. 

The  worst  defect  in  the  sculpture  of  Bernini  is  his  treat- 
ment of  the  human  body.  At  times  he  exaggerates  the 
muscular  power  beyond  all  resemblance  to  nature,  and 
again  he  seems  to  leave  out  all  anatomy  and  soften  the 
body  to  a  point  that  far  exceeds  possibility.  This  softness 
is  seen  in  his  Apollo  and  Daphne,  which  shows  the  moment 
when  she  is  suddenly  changed  into  a  laurel-tree  in  order  to 
escape  the  pursuit  of  the  young  god.  This  group  is  in  the 
Villa  Borghese,  at  Rome  ;  it  was  executed  when  Bernini 
was  but  eighteen  years  old,  and  near  the  close  of  his  life  he 
declared  that  he  had  made  little  progress  after  its  produc- 
tion. 

But  he  reached  the  height  of  this  objectionable  manner 
in  his  representation  of  the  Rape  of  Proserpine,  which  is  in 
the  Villa  Ludovisi.  The  Pluto  is  a  rough,  repulsive  man, 
with  whom  no  association  of  a  god  can  be  made,  and  the 
Proserpine  is  made  a  soulless,  sensual  figure,  so  far  from 
attractive  in  a  pure  sense  that  we  are  almost  willing  that 
Pluto  should  carry  her  to  some  region  from  which  she  is  not 
likely  to  come  back.      At  the  same  time  wc  arc  sorry  not  to 


BERNINI. 


22; 


provide   her  with  an  ointment  for  the  blue  marks  which  the 
big  hands  of  Pluto  are  making  on  her  soft  flesh.     The  plain 
truth  is,  that  this  work  makes  a  low  and  common  thing  of  a 
subject  which  could   be  so 
treated  as  to  be  a  "thing 
of  beauty"   in  a  charming 
sense.     (Fig.  in.) 

Bernini       executed       a 
statue    of    St.    Bibiana   for 
the  church  of  that  saint  at 
Rome,  and  one  of  St.  Lon 
ginus  in  one  of  the  niches 
to  the  dome  of  St.  Peter's ; 
he   also  made   the   designs 
for   the    one   hundred    and 
sixty-two    statues     in    the 
colonnades  of   St.   Peter's, 
and  for  the  decorations  of 
the  bridge  of  St.  Angelo  ; 
in  such  works,  almost  with- 
out   exception,    he     chose 
some  moment  in  the  lives 
of  the  persons  represented 
that    called    for    a   striking 
attitude   and    gave   an    op- 
portunity for  an  effect  that 
is   often    theatrical.     As   a 
mere  decoration  such  stat- 
ues have  a  certain  value  of 

an  inferior  sort  ;  but  as  works  of  art,  as  intellectual  efforts, 
they  are  worthless.  However,  this  decorative  effect,  as  it  is 
seen  on  the  fa9ade  of  the  Lateran,  where  the  figures  stand 
out  against  the  sky,  or  on  the  bridge  of  St.  Angelo,  is  not  by 
any  means  to  be  despised  ;  only  we  cannot  call  a  sculptor  a 
great  artist  when  he  can  do  nothing  finer  than  this. 


Fig.  III. — Rape  of  Proserpine. 
By  Bernini. 


226  SCULPTURE. 

Some  of  Bernini's  works  in  which  he  shows  intense 
suffering  have  more  genuine  feeling,  and  are  finer  in  artistic 
qualities.  One  of  these  is  Pieta,  in  the  chapel  of  St.  An- 
dreas Corsini  in  the  Lateran.  But  he  frequently  goes  be- 
yond the  bounds  of  good  taste,  as,  for  example,  on  the 
monument  to  Pope  Urban  VIII.,  in  St.  Peter's,  where  he 
represents  Death  with  his  bony  hand  writing  the  inscrip- 
tion on  the  panel  ;  this  is  truly  terrible,  and  not  less  so  is 
another  Death  upon  the  monument  of  Alexander  VII.,  rais- 
ing the  marble  curtain  before  the  entrance  to  the  vault,  as 
if  he  were  inviting  one  to  walk  in.  Many  objections  can  be 
made  to  his  draperies.  He  exaggerated  the  small  curtains 
seen  on  some  ancient  tombs  until  they  were  huge  objects  of 
ugliness  ;  the  drapery  upon  his  figures  is  so  prominently 
treated  that  instead  of  being  a  minor  object  it  sometimes 
seems  like  the  principal  one  ;  it  no  longer  serves  to  conceal 
forms,  and  at  the  same  time  show  their  grace  and  motion, 
but  it  is  inflated,  fluttering,  grotesque  in  form  and  quite 
absurd  when  compared  with  statues  in  which  it  answers  its 
true  purpose. 

Charles  I.  of  England  heard  so  much  of  Bernini  that  he 
desired  to  have  a  statue  of  himself  executed  by  this 
sculptor  ;  three  of  Vandyck's  portraits  of  the  king  were  sent 
to  him,  and  the  likeness  of  the  statue  was  so  satisfactory  to 
the  monarch  that  he  sent  the  artist  six  thousand  crowns 
and  a  ring  worth  as  much  more. 

Bernini  executed  a  colossal  equestrian  statue  of  Constan- 
tine  for  the  portico  of  St.  Peter's  ;  he  made  another  of  Louis 
XIV.,  which  was  changed  into  a  Marcus  Curtius,  and  sent 
to  Versailles.  He  also  executed  the  fountain  in  the  Piazza 
Navona,  at  Rome,  which  is  one  of  his  exaggerated  works. 

Franc^OIS  Duquesnoy  (i 594-1646)  was  born  at  Brus- 
sels, and  was  known  in  Rome  as  II  Fiammingo.  The 
Archduke  Albert  sent  him  to  Rome  to  study,  and  he  was  a 
contemporary  of  Bernini.      When   his  patron  died   Duques- 


IN   FRANCE.  227 

noy  was  left  without  means,  and  was  forced  to  carve  small 
figures  in  ivory  for  his  support.  His  figures  of  children, 
which  were  full  of  life  and  child-like  expression,  became 
quite  famous.  An  important  work  of  his  in  this  way  is  the 
fountain  of  the  Manneken-Pis,  at  Brussels. 

His  masterpiece  is  a  colossal  statue  of  St.  Andrew  in  the 
Church  of  St.  Peter's  ;  it  occupied  him  five  years,  and  is 
one  of  the  best  works  of  modern  art.  His  statue  of 
St.  Susanna  in  the  Church  of  Santa  Maria  di  Loreto,  in 
Rome,  is  simple  and  noble,  and  is  much  admired.  Little 
is  known  of  this  artist's  life,  and  it  is  said  that  he  was  poi- 
soned by  his  brother  when  on  his  way  to  France. 

There  was  a  goodly  company  of  sculptors  following 
Bernini,  but  none  whose  works  or  life  was  of  sufificient  im- 
portance or  interest  to  demand  our  attention  here,  and  we 
will  pass  to  the  sculpture  of  France,  where  the  arts  were 
less  devoted  to  the  service  of  the  Church  and  more  to  the 
uses  of  kings,  princes,  and  noblemen.  The  court  of  France 
was  devoted  to  pomp  and  pleasure,  and  sculpture  was  used 
for  the  glorification  of  the  leaders  in  all  its  follies.  In  one 
sense  this  is  more  agreeable  than  the  art  in  Italy  which  we 
have  been  considering,  for  nothing  can  be  more  disagree- 
able than  a  false  religious  sentiment  in  art  ;  it  is  only  when 
the  artist  is  filled  with  true  devotion  and  feels  deeply  in  his 
own  soul  all  that  he  tries  to  express  in  his  work  that  relig- 
ious representations  can  appeal  to  us  agreeably  or  benefit 
us  by  their  influence. 

Simon  Guillain  (i 581-1658)  is  especially  interesting 
as  the  sculptor  of  the  statue  of  Louis  XIV.  as  a  boy,  which 
is  in  the  Louvre  ;  those  of  his  parents  are  also  there  ; 
formerly  they  decorated  the  Pont  au  Change.  Other  works 
by  this  master  are  in  the  same  museum. 

Jacques  Sarrazin  (i 588-1660)  is  only  known  by  his 
works,  which  are  now  in  the  Louvre,  of  which  a  bronze  bust 
of  the  Chancellor  Pierre  Seguier  is  worthy  of  notice. 


228  SCULPTURE. 

Francois  Anguier  (1604- 1669)  was  born  at  Eu,  in 
Normandy,  and  was  the  son  of  a  carpenter,  who  taught  his 
son  to  carve  in  wood  at  an  early  age.  When  still  quite 
young  Frangois  went  to  Paris  to  study,  and  later  to  Rome. 
He  became  one  of  the  first  artists  of  his  time  in  France, 
and  was  a  favorite  of  the  king,  Louis  XIII.,  who  made  him 
keeper  of  the  gallery  of  antiquities,  and  gave  him  apart- 
ments in  the  Louvre.  Most  of  his  important  works  were 
monuments  to  illustrious  men.  His  copies  of  antique 
sculptures  were  very  fine. 

Michel  Anguier  (1612-1686)  was  a  brother  of  the  pre- 
ceding, with  whom  he  studied  until  they  both  went  to 
Rome.  Michel  remained  there  ten  years,  and  was  em- 
ployed with  other  artists  in  St.  Peter's  and  in  some  palaces. 
In  165 1  he  returned  to  Paris,  and  assisted  Francois  in  the 
great  work  of  the  tomb  of  the  Duke  de  Montmorenci  at 
Moulins. 

Michel  executed  a  statue  of  Louis  XIII.,  which  was  cast 
in  bronze.  He  adorned  the  apartments  of  Queen  Anne  of 
Austria  in  the  Louvre,  and  for  her  executed  the  principal 
sculptures  in  the  Church  of  Val  de  Grace  ;  a  Nativity  in 
this  church  is  his  best  work.  His  sculptures  are  seen  in 
various  churches,  and  he  also  executed  statues  of  ancient 
gods  and  vases  for  garden  ornaments.  He  was  a  professor 
in  the  Academy  of  Arts  in  Paris,  and  wrote  lectures  on 
sculpture. 

Francois  Girardon  (1630-17 15),  born  at  Troyes,  was 
diprot(^g€  oi  the  Chancellor  Seguier.  Louis  XIV.  gave  him 
a  pension,  by  which  he  was  enabled  to  study  in  Rome,  and 
after  his  return  to  France  the  king  gave  him  many  commis- 
sions. The  monument  to  Cardinal  Richelieu  in  the  Church 
of  the  Sorbonne  is  from  the  hand  of  this  sculptor.  Perhaps 
his  best-known  work  is  the  Rape  of  Proserpine  at  Versailles. 
He  made  an  equestrian  statue  of  Louis  XIV.,  which  was 
destroyed  in  the  Revolution  ;  a  model  of  it  in  bronze  is  in 


IN    FRANCE.  229 


the  Louvre.  His  bust  of  Boileau  is  a  strong,  fine  work. 
Many  of  his  sculptures  were  destroyed  by  the  revolutionists. 
A  devoted  follower  of  Bernini  was  PlERRE  PUGET  (1622- 
1694).  His  works  are  seen  at  the  Louvre  and  at  Versailles. 
His  group  of  Milo  of  Crotona  endeavoring  to  free  himself 
from  the  claws  of  the  lion  is  full  of  life  and  is  natural,  but 
the  subject  is  too  repulsive  to  be  long  examined  ;  his  Per- 
seus liberating  Andromeda  is  more  agreeable,  and  is  noble 
in  its  forms  and  animated  in  expression.  His  Alexander 
and  Diogenes  is  in  relief,  and  is  effective  and  picturesque. 

Antoine  Coysevox  (1640-1720)  was  born  at  Lyons,  and 
manifested  his  artistic  talent  very  early  in  life.  Before  he 
was  seventeen  years  old  he  had  distinguished  himself  by  a 
statue  of  the  Virgin,  and  progressed  rapidly  in  his  studies, 
which  he  made  in  Paris.  In  1667  he  was  engaged  by  Cardi- 
nal Furstenburg  to  go  to  Alsace  to  decorate  his  palace  ; 
this  occupied  him  four  years.  When  he  again  went  to  Paris 
he  became  a  very  eminent  artist.  He  executed  a  statue  of 
Louis  XIV.,  and  received  a  commission  from  the  province 
of  Bretagne  for  an  equestrian  statue  of  the  same  monarch. 

Among  his  best  works  are  the  tomb  of  Cardinal  Maza- 
rin  ;  the  tomb  of  the  great  Colbert  in  the  Church  of 
St.  Eustache  ;  the  monument  of  Charles  le  Brun  in  the 
Church  of  St.  Nicolas  ;  the  statue  of  the  great  Conde  ;  the 
marble  statue  of  Louis  XIV.,  in  the  Church  of  Notre  Dame, 
and  others.  In  the  tomb  of  Mazarin  he  showed  fine  powers 
of  construction  and  excellence  of  design.  The  kneeling 
figure  of  the  minister  is  a  dignified  statue  and  well  ex- 
ecuted ;  the  statues  in  bronze  of  Prudence,  Peace,  and 
Fidelity,  and  the  marble  figures  of  Charity  and  Religion  are 
each  and  all  noble  works,  and  free  to  a  remarkable  degree 
from  the  mannerisms  and  faults  of  his  time. 

Nicolas  Coustou  (1658-1733)  was  a  nephew  and  pupil 
of  Coysevox.  He  took  the  grand  prize  at  Paris,  and  went  to 
Rome  to  study  when  he  was  twenty-three  years  old.     He 


230  SCULPTURE. 

made  many  copies  of  the  antique.  After  his  return  to 
France  he  was  much  employed.  His  chief  work  was  a  colos- 
sal representation  of  the  Junction  of  the  Seine  and  the 
Marne.  He  also  made  for  the  city  of  Lyons  a  bronze 
statue  representing  the  river  Saone.  Some  of  his  sculp- 
tures are  in  the  Church  of  Notre  Dame. 

GuiLLAUME  COUSTOU  (1678-1746),  brother  of  Nicolas, 
also  gained  the  grand  prize  and  went  to  Rome,  and  on  his 
return  made  a  fine  reputation.  Much  of  his  best  work  was 
for  the  gardens  of  Marly  ;  he  executed  a  bronze  statue  of 
the  Rhone  at  Lyons  ;  a  bas-relief  of  Christ  with  the 
Doctors,  at  Versailles,  and  statues  of  Louis  XIV.  and  Car- 
dinal Dubois,  in  the  Museum  of  French  Monuments. 

Jean  Baptiste  Pigalle  (1714-1785)  is  the  last  French 
sculptor  of  whom  I  shall  speak  here.  He  was  born  in 
Paris,  and  gained  his  first  fame  by  a  statue  of  Mercury  ;  but 
his  masterpiece  was  the  tomb  of  Marshal  Moritz  of  Saxony, 
in  the  Church  of  St.  Thomas,  at  Strasburg.  The  soldier 
is  represented  in  his  own  costume,  just  as  he  wore  it  in  life, 
about  to  enter  a  tomb,  on  one  side  of  which  stands  a  skele- 
ton Death,  and  on  the  other  a  mourning  Hercules.  A 
statue  representing  France  tries  to  hold  him  back,  and  a 
Genius  attends  on  him  with  an  inverted  torch.  There  are 
many  accessories  of  military  emblems  and  trophies.  There 
have  been  several  engravings  made  from  this  tomb,  the  best 
part  of  which  is  the  figure  of  the  Marshal. 

Pigalle  was  a  favorite  with  Mme.  Pompadour,  of  whom 
he  made  a  portrait  statue.  She  employed  him  to  do  many 
works  for  her.  His  best  monument  in  Paris  is  that  of  the 
Comte  d'Harcourt,  in  the  Church  of  Notre  Dame. 

In  the  Netherlands,  as  in  Italy,  the  painting  of  the  time 
had  a  great  effect  upon  sculpture,  and  it  was  full  of  energy, 
like  the  pictures  of  the  Rubens  school  ;  at  the  same  time 
there  remained  traces  of  the  traditions  of  former  days,  and 
while  a  great  change  had  come  since  the  days  of  Vischer, 


ARTHUR   QUELLINUS. 


231 


there  was   still   a   firm   adherence   to  nature,  and  no   such 
affectations  and  mannerisms  existed  here  as  were  seen  in 
the  works  of  Bernini  and  his  followers  in  Italy  and  France. 
One  of    the    ablest    sculptors  of   his  day  was  ARTHUR 
QUELLINUS,    who    was    born    at   Antwerp    in    1607.^    He 
studied  under  Duquesnoy,  and  was  especially  happy  in  his 
manner  of  imagining  his  subjects,  and  of  avoiding  the  imi- 
tation  of  others  or  a  commonplace  treat- 
ment of  his  own.     The  magnificent  Town 
Hall  of  Antwerp  was  commenced  in  1648, 
and  Quellinus  received  the  commission  to 
decorate  it  with  plastic  works.      His  sculp- 
tures are  numerous,  both  on  the   interior 
and  exterior  of   the   edifice.     In   the    two 
pediments  he  introduced  allegorical  repre- 
sentations of  the  power  of  the  city  of  Ant- 
werp, especially  in  her  commerce.     These 
compositions  are   picturesque  in  their  ar- 
rangement, but  the  treatment  is   such   as 
belongs  to  sculpture  ;    in   one  of   these  a 
figure    which    represents    the    city   is    en- 
throned like  a  queen,  and  is  surrounded  by 
fantastic  sea-gods,  who  offer  their  homage 
to  her.     (Fig.  112.) 

We  cannot  give  a  list  of  many  detached     ^^^  112.— Carya- 
works  by  Quellinus,  but  one  of  the  best  of      tide.    Quellinus. 
the  old  monuments  in  Berlin  is  attributed 
to  him.     It  is  the  tomb  of  Count  Sparr  in  the  Marienkirche. 
At  the  present  day  Berlin  is  a  city  of  much  artistic  im- 
portance, and  the  beginning  of  its  present  architectural  and 
sculptural  prominence  may  be  dated  at  about  the  end  of 
the  seventeenth  century,  not  quite  two  hundred  years  ago. 
One  of  the  most  influential  artists  of  that  time  was  ANDREAS 
SCHLUTER  (1662-1714),  who  was  born  in  Hamburg.      His 
father  was  a   sculptor  of  no  prominence,  but  he  took  his 


2^2 


SCULPTURE. 


son  with  him  to  Dantzig,  where  many  Netherlandish  artists 
were  employed  upon  the  buildings  being  constructed  there. 
Andreas  Schliiter  was  naturally  gifted,  and  he  devoted  him- 
self to  the  study  of  both  architecture  and  sculpture,  at 
home  and  later  in  Italy.  Before  he  was  thirty  years  old  he 
was  employed  in  important  affairs  in  Warsaw,  and  in  1694 


Fig.  113. — Heads  of  Dyinc.  Warriors.     By  Schliiter. 


he  was  summoned  to  Berlin,  where  he  executed  the  plastic 
ornaments  of  the  Arsenal  ;  the  heads  of  the  Dying  Warriors 
above  the  windows  in  the  court-yard  are  remarkable  works. 
They  are  very  fine  when  regarded  only  as  excellent  exam- 
ples of  good  sculpture,  and  they  are  very  effective  placed  as 
they  are,  for  they  seem  to  tell  the  whole  tragic  story  of 
what  a  soldier's  life  and  fate  must  often  be  (Fig.   113). 


IN   GERMANY. 


235 


However,  the  masterpiece  of  this  sculptor  is  the  eques- 
trian statue  of  the  Great  Elector  for  the  long  bridge  at 
Berlin,  which  was  completed  in  1703  (Fig.  114).  Lubke 
says  of   this  :   "  Although  biassed  as  regards  form   by  the 


Fig.  114.— The  Great  Elector.     By  Schlilter. 

age  which  prescribed  the  Roman  costume  to  ideal  portraits 
of  this  kind,  the  horseman  on  his  mighty  charger  is  con- 
ceived  with  so  much  energy,  he  is  filled  with  such  power  of 
will,  he  is  so  noble  in  bearing  and  so  steady  in  his  course, 
that  no  other  equestrian  statue  can  be  compared  with  this 


234 


SCULPTURE. 


in  fiery  majesty.  Equally  masterly  is  the  arrangement  of 
the  whole,  especially  the  four  chained  slaves  on  the  base, 
in  whom  we  gladl}^  pardon  a  certain  crowding  of  movements 

and  forms." 

Schluter  also  made  a  statue  of  the  Elector  Frederic  III., 
which  is  now  in   Konigsberg.      Besides  his  works  in  sculp 
ture  he  was  the  architect  of  the  royal  palaces  at  Potsdam, 
•Charlottenburg,  and   Berlin,  and  there  are  many  sculptures 
by  him  at  these  places.     When  he  was  thus  in  an  important 
position  and  at  the  height  of  professional  prosperity  he  met 
Avith  a  sad  misfortune,  from   the  effects  of  which  he  never 
recovered.      A  chime  of  bells  had  been  purchased  in  Hol- 
land,  and   Schluter  was   commissioned   to   arrange   an   old 
tower  for  their  reception.      He  carried  it  higher  than  it  had 
been,  and   was  proceeding  to  finish   it,  when  it  threatened 
to   fall,  and   had   to   be   pulled  down.     On  account  of  this 
Schluter  was  dismissed  from  his  position  as  court  architect ; 
and  though  his  office  of  sculptor  was  left  to  him  his  power 
was  gone,  and  he  was  broken  down  in  spirit.      He  was  called 
to  St.  Petersburg  by  Peter  the  Great,  and  died  soon  after. 
Now,  the  verdict  of  judges  is  that  he  was  one  of  the  great- 
est artists  of  his  age,  and  that  his  works,  both  in  sculpture 
and  architecture,  belong  to  the  noblest  productions  of  his 
century. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

CANOVA,  THORWALDSEN,  AND   OTHER   RECENT   SCULPTORS. 

IN  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  arts  had 
fallen  into  such  a  feeble  state  that  a  true  artistic  work 
—one  conceived  and  executed  in  an  artist  spirit— was  not 
to  be  looked  for.  As  in  the  Middle  Ages,  too,  thought 
seemed  to  be  sleeping.  Both  art  and  letters  were  largely 
prostrated  to  the  service  of  those  in  high  places  ;  they  were 
scarcely  used  except  for  the  pleasure  or  praise  of  men 
whose  earthly  power  made  them  to  be  feared,  and  because 
they  were  feared  they  were  flattered  openly  and  despised 

secretly. 

But  about  the  end  of  the  century  another  spirit  arose  ; 
a  second  Renaissance  took  place,  which  may  be  traced  in 
literature  and  in  art,  as  it  may  be  in  the  movement  of  polit- 
ical events  and  an  independence  of  thought  everywhere. 

Naturally  the  question  as  to  where  artists  could  turn  for 
their  models  was  an  important  one,  and  as  before  in  various 
epochs  in  art  the  antique  had  been  the  "  only  help  in  time 
of  trouble,"  so  it  proved  again.  In  1764  Winckelmann 
published  his  "  History  of  Ancient  Art,"  in  which  the  rich 
significance  of  classic  art  was  clearly  placed  before  the  stu^ 
dent.  The  service  which  this  author  rendered  to  art  can 
scarcely  be  over-estimated,  coming,  as  it  did,  at  a  time 
when  the  genius  of  art  seemed  to  have  turned  his  back 
upon  the  world,  and  all  true  inspiration  was  lost.  At  about 
the  same  time  the  monuments  of   Athens  were  recalled  to 


236  SCULPTURE. 

the  European  world  by  Stuart  and  Revett  in  their  archi- 
tectural designs,  and  by  the  end  of  the  century  the  study 
of  the  antique  had  done  its  transforming  work,  and  artists 
were  striving  for  more  worthy  ends  than  the  favor  of  kings 
and  powerful  patrons.  This  new  study  of  classic  art  did 
not  show  its  full  and  best  results  until  the  Danish  sculptor 
Thorwaldsen  executed  his  w^orks ;  but  before  his  time 
others  were  striving  for  that  which  it  was  his  privilege  to 
perfect. 

Among  the  earliest  and  most  famous  of  these  eighteenth- 
century  reformers  was  the  Venetian,  Antonio  Canova 
(1757-1822).  He  was  born  in  Possagno,  and  was  the  son 
and  erandson  of  stone-cutters.  His  father  died  w^hen  he 
was  very  young,  and  he  was  thus  left  to  the  care  and  in- 
struction of  his  grandfather,  the  old  Pasino  Canova,  who 
lost  no  time  in  accustoming  the  boy  to  the  use  of  the  chisel, 
for  there  are  cuttings  in  existence  which  w^ere  executed  by 
Canova  in  his  ninth  year.  Signor  Giovanni  Faliero  dwelt 
near  Possagno,  and  was  in  the  habit  of  employing  Pasino 
Canova  frequently  ;  he  entertained  such  respect  for  the 
old  stone-cutter  that  he  sometimes  asked  him  to  spend 
a  few  days  at  his  villa.  On  these  visits  the  old  man  was 
accompanied  by  Antonio,  who  soon  became  a  favorite 
with  all  the  family  of  Faliero,  and  a  friend  of  the  young 
Giuseppe. 

On  one  occasion  when  Pasino  and  the  boy  attended  a 
festival  at  Villa  P'aliero,  the  ornament  for  the  dessert  was 
forcrottcn.  When  the  servants  remembered  it  at  the  last 
moment  they  went  to  the  old  Pasino  in  distress,  and  begged 
him  to  save  them  from  the  displeasure  of  the  master.  The 
old  man  could  do  nothing  for  them,  but  the  young  Tonin, 
as  he  was  called,  asked  for  some  butter,  and  from  it  quickly 
carved  a  lion.  At  table  this  strange  ornament  attracted 
the  attention  of  all  the  guests,  and  Tonin  was  called  in  to 
receive   their  praises  ;   from   this  time  the   Senator  P\iliero 


CANOVA.  237 

became  his  patron,  and  he  placed  the  boy  under  the  in- 
struction of  Giuseppe  Bernardi,  called  Toretto,  a  Venetian 
sculptor  who  had  settled  at  Pagnano. 

At  this  time  Canova  was  twelve  years  old  ;  he  studied 
two  years  under  Toretto,  and  made  many  statues  and  mod- 
els, which  are  still  preserved  by  the  Faliero  family,  or  in 
other  collections.  His  first  really  original  work  was  the 
modelling  of  two  angels  in  clay  ;  he  did  these  during  an 
absence  of  his  master's  ;  he  placed  them  in  a  prominent 
place,  and  then  awaited  Toretto's  opinion  with  great  anx- 
iety. When  the  master  saw  them  he  was  filled  with  sur- 
prise, and  exclaimed  that  they  were  truly  marvellous  ;  from 
these  models  the  grandfather  cut  two  angels  in  pietra  dura 
for  the  high-altar  at  Monfumo.  At  this  same  period  Ca- 
nova made  his  first  representations  of  the  human  form  ;  he 
was  accustomed  to  make  small  statues  and  give  them  to  his 
friends. 

When  he  was  fifteen  years  old  Faliero  sent  for  him,  and 
received  him  into  his  own  family.  Canova  wished  to  earn 
something  for  himself,  and  engaged  to  work  half  of  the  day 
for  Giuseppe  Ferrari,  who  was  a  nephev/  of  his  former  mas- 
ter, Toretto.  Of  this  time  Canova  afterward  wrote  :  "  I 
labored  for  a  mere  pittance,  but  it  was  sufficient.  It  was 
the  fruit  of  my  own  resolution,  and,  as  I  then  flattered  my- 
self, the  foretaste  of  more  honorable  rewards."  This  cir- 
cumstance proves  how  remarkable  he  must  have  been  ;  it  is 
unusual  for  a  boy  of  fifteen  to  be  paid  for  work  instead  of 
paying  for  instruction.  In  Venice  he  was  able  to  learn 
much  from  observation.  He  divided  his  time  systemati- 
cally, spending  his  mornings  in  the  Academy  or  some  gal- 
lery, his  afternoons  in  the  shop  where  he  was  employed,  and 
his  evenings  in  studies  for  which  he  had  had  no  opportunity 
as  a  child. 

The  first  commission  which  was  given  to  Canova  was 
from  the  Commendatore  Farsetti  for  a  pair  of  baskets  filled 


238  SCULPTURE. 

with  fruit  and  flowers,  to  be  sculptured  in  marble,  and 
placed  on  a  staircase  which  led  to  the  picture  gallery  in  the 
Parsetti  Palace,  where  Canova  spent  much  time  in  study. 
These  works  have  no  special  excellence. 

After  a  year  in  Venice  he  went  to  Asolo  with  the 
Faliero  family.  Some  time  before  this  his  patron  had 
asked  Canova  to  make  for  him  a  group  of  Orpheus  and 
Eurydice,  taking  the  moment  when  Eurydice  beholds  her 
lover  torn  away  from  her  forever.  Canova  had  been  busy 
with  this  in  his  leisure  hours  in  Venice,  and  he  took  with 
him  to  Asolo  everything  necessary  to  the  work.  He  com- 
pleted the  Eurydice  in  his  sixteenth  year  ;  it  was  life-size, 
and  cut  from  pictra  di  Cosiosa. 

With  this  first  attempt  Canova  became  convinced  that 
the  small  models  such  as  were  in  use  by  sculptors  were 
quite  insufficient  to  good  work,  and  he  determined  that  his 
models  should  be  of  the  size  which  the  finished  work  would 
have,  even  when  colossal. 

After  this  time  he  had  his  studio  in  a  cell  of  the  monas- 
tery of  the  Augustine  friars  attached  to  the  Church  of  San 
Stefano,  in  Venice.  During  the  next  three  years  he  was 
occupied  with  his  Orpheus  and  a  bust  of  the  Doge  Renier. 
At  this  time  he  studied  entirely  from  nature  ;  he  devoted 
himself  to  the  pursuit  of  anatomy,  and  after  a  time  was 
accustomed  to  make  dissections  in  order  to  sketch  or  model 
from  important  parts  or  some  conformations  that  he  desired 
in  particular  instances. 

In  1776  his  Orpheus  was  finished  and  exhibited,  and  it 
chanced  to  be  at  the  annual  festival  of  the  Ascension,  when 
the  opera  of  Orpheus  was  brought  out  in  Venice.  Canova 
was  accustomed  to  say  that  the  praise  he  then  received  was 
"  that  which  made  him  a  sculptor  ;"  and  so  grateful  was  he 
for  it  that  later,  when  he  became  Marquis  of  Ischia,  he 
chose  for  his  armorial  ensigns  the  lyre  and  serpent  which  are 
the  mythological  symbols  of  Orpheus  and  Eurydice.      The 


CANOVA.  239 

Senator  Grimani  ordered  a  copy  of  the  Orpheus,  and  this 
was  the  first  work  of  Canova  in  Carrara  marble. 

He  soon  found  his  workshop  too  small,  and  removed  to 
one  in  the  street  of  San  Maurizio,  where  he  remained  until 
he  left  his  native  country.  His  next  work  was  a  statue  of 
^'Esculapius,  larger  than  life  ;  a  short  time  before  his  death, 
when  he  saw  this  statue,  he  sorrowfully  declared  that  "  his 
progress  had  by  no  means  corresponded  with  the  indica- 
tions of  excellence  in  this  performance  of  his  youth." 
About  this  time  he  executed  an  Apollo  and  Daphne  which 
was  never  entirely  finished,  and  when  twenty-two  years  old 
he  completed  a  group  of  Daedalus  and  Icarus  for  the  Sena- 
tor Pisani.  This  was  intended  for  an  exterior  decoration 
of  his  palace  ;  but  when  it  was  done  Pisani  considered  it 
worthy  of  a  place  in  his  gallery,  already  famous  on  account 
of  the  painting  of  Darius  and  his  Family,  by  Paul  Vero- 
nese, and  other  fine  works.  This  may  be  called  Canova's 
last  work  in  Venice,  as  he  went  to  Rome  soon  after  his 
twenty-third  birthday. 

The  Cavaliere  Zuliani  was  then  the  representative  of 
Venice  in  Rome,  and  Faliero  gave  Canova  letters  to  him. 
Zuliani  was  an  enlightened  patron  of  art,  and  he  received 
the  young  sculptor  with  great  kindness,  and  soon  arranged 
to  have  his  model  of  Dsedalus  and  Icarus  exhibited  to  the 
best  artists  and  judges  of  art  in  Rome.  We  can  fancy  the 
anxiety  with  which  Canova  went  to  this  exhibition  ;  but  the 
praise  which  he  there  received  secured  for  him  a  place 
among  the  artists  then  in  Rome. 

Canova  had  a  great  desire  to  undertake  a  group  of  some 
important  subject,  and  Zuliani  was  his  friend  in  this  ;  for 
he  gave  him  the  marble,  and  promised  if  no  other  purchaser 
appeared  to  give  him  the  full  value  of  the  work  when  com- 
pleted. He  also  gave  him  a  workshop  in  the  Venetian 
Palace,  to  which  no  one  had  access,  where  he  could  be 
entirely  free  and  undisturbed.     The  subject  chosen  for  the 


240  SCULPTURE. 

group  was  Theseus  vanquishing  the  Minotaur,  and  the  size 
was  to  be  colossal.  Canova  now  worked  with  untiring  de- 
votion ;  he  was  often  seen  before  the  statues  on  Monte 
Cavallo,  with  sketch-book  in  hand,  as  soon  as  it  was  light 
enough  for  him  to  see,  and  he  studied  faithfully  in  the 
museums  and  galleries  of  Rome.  His  friends  in  Venice 
had  secured  for  him  a  pension  of  three  hundred  ducats, 
which  placed  him  above  want,  and  he  was  free  to  devote 
himself  to  his  Theseus,  although  while  at  work  on  that  he 
made  a  statue  of  Apollo,  which  was  exhibited  with  Ange- 
lini's  Minerva,  and  received  much  praise. 

Meantime  no  one  knew  of  the  Theseus  save  the  ambas- 
sador. When  it  was  finished  Zuliani  prepared  it  for  exhibi- 
tion, and  invited  all  the  most  distinguished  men  in  Rome  to 
an  entertainment.  A  model  of  the  head  of  Theseus  was 
put  in  a  prominent  place,  and  the  guests  were  busy  in  dis- 
cussing it  ;  they  asked  questions  and  expressed  opinions, 
and  when  their  interest  was  well  awakened  Zuliani  said  : 
"  Come,  let  us  end  this  discussion  by  seeing  the  original," 
and  the  statue  was  unveiled  before  their  eyes.  Canova 
often  declared  that  death  itself  could  not  have  been  more 
terrible  to  him  than  were  those  moments.  But  he  and  all 
else  were  forgotten  in  the  surprise  and  admiration  which 
the  group  excited  ;  in  that  hour  the  artists  who  afterward 
hated  him  gave  him  their  sincere  praise.  From  that  day 
the  fame  of  Canova  was  established. 

Very  soon  he  was  selected  to  erect  a  monument  to 
Clement  XIV.  This  pope  was  a  famous  man  ;  he  was  the 
collector  of  the  Clementine  Museum,  the  author  of  the  ele- 
gant letters  known  by  his  family  name  of  Ganganelli,  and, 
above  all,  he  was  the  suppressor  of  the  Jesuits.  While 
Canova  felt  the  honor  that  was  thus  offered  him  he  also 
thought  himself  bound  to  consult  those  who  had  conferred 
his  pension  upon  him,  and  thus  helped  him  to  become  the 
artist   that   he   was.      He   went,    therefore,    to   Venice   and 


Pjg.  115.— The  Three  Graces.     By  Canova. 


242  SCULPTURE. 

sought  direction  from  the  Senate  ;  he  was  told  to  employ 
his  time  as  should  be  most  profitable  to  himself.  He  there- 
fore gave  up  his  studio  in  Venice,  and  as  his  patron,  Zuliani, 
had  now  left  Rome,  he  fitted  up  the  studio  in  the  Strada 
Babbuino,  which  became  so  well  known  to  lovers  of  art  of 
all  nations  who  visited  Rome.  In  1787  the  above  monu- 
ment was  exhibited,  and  was  much  admired.  An  engrav- 
ing was  made  from  it  and  dedicated  to  Zuliani  ;  but  Canova 
desired  to  do  something  more  worthy  for  his  patron,  and 
made  a  statue  of  Psyche  as  a  gift  to  him  ;  Zuliani  hesi- 
tated to  accept  it,  but  finally  consented  to  do  so  if  Canova 
would  in  turn  accept  a  number  of  silver  medals  with  the 
Psyche  on  one  side  and  a  head  of  Canova  on  the  other, 
which  he  could  give  to  his  friends.  In  the  midst  of  all  this. 
Zuliani  died,  and  his  heirs  were  so  angry  because  he  had 
left  works  of  art  to  the  Public  Library  that  they  refused  to^ 
carry  out  his  plans.  In  the  end  the  Psyche  was  bought  by 
Napoleon  and  presented  to  the  Queen  of  Bavaria. 

Canova  executed  a  second  papal  monument  to  Pope 
Clement  XIII.  It  was  erected  in  St.  Peter's  by  his 
nephews.  The  mourning  genius  upon  it  is  frequently  men- 
tioned as  one  of  Canova's  happiest  figures.  The  execution 
of  these  two  monuments  occupied  almost  ten  years  of  the 
best  part  of  this  sculptor's  life. 

Canova's  fame  had  extended  over  all  Europe,  and  he 
was  asked  to  go  to  St.  Petersburg,  and  offered  most  ad- 
vantageous terms  if  he  would  do  so  ;  but  he  declined,  and' 
executed  the  monument  of  Admiral  Emo,  on  a  commission 
from  the  Venetian  Senate.  For  this  work  he  received  a 
gold  medal  and  an  annuity  for  life. 

In  1798,  during  the  revolutionary  excitement  at  Rome, 
Canova  went  to  Possagno,  his  native  town.  Here,  in  his 
retirement,  he  painted  more  than  twenty  pictures,  which 
were  by  no  means  to  be  despised.  His  masterpiece  repre- 
sented  the   Saviour   just    taken    from   the   cross,    and   sur- 


CANOVA.  243 

rounded  by  the  Marys,  St.  John,  Nicodemus,  and  Joseph  of 
Arimathea.  This  was  the  first  of  the  many  gifts  which  he 
made  to  this  little  church,  by  which  it  became  a  splendid 
temple  and  the  expression  of  Canova's  love  for  his  birth- 
place and  early  home. 

After  he  returned  to  Rome  his  health  was  not  sufificient 
to  allow  of  his  usual  close  application  to  work,  and  he  went 
to  Berlin  and  Vienna  in  company  with  Prince  Rezzonico, 
and  this  so  benefited  him  that  he  was  able  to  resume  his 
labors  with  new  energy.  He  soon  achieved  a  proud  tri- 
umph, for  his  Perseus  was  placed  in  one  of  the  Stanze  of 
the  Vatican  by  a  public  decree  ;  this  was  the  first  modern 
work  which  had  been  thus  honored. 

In  1802-1803  Napoleon  requested  Canova  to  go  to  Paris 
to  model  a  portrait  bust  for  a  colossal  statue  ;  the  work  was 
finished  six  years  later.  In  1805  the  artist  went  again  to 
Vienna,  where  he  modelled  a  bust  of  the  Emperor  of  Aus- 
tria ;  in  1810  again  to  Paris  to  prepare  a  model  for  the 
statue  of  Maria  Louisa.  With  the  exception  of  these  short 
journeys  he  was  constantly  at  work  in  his  Roman  studio 
until  181 5,  when  he  was  sent  in  an  official  capacity  to 
France  by  the  pope,  for  the  purpose  of  reclaiming  the 
works  of  art  which  had  been  carried  from  Italy  in  times  of 
war,  and  which  really  belonged  to  the  patrimony  of  the 
Church.  Canova  executed  his  commission  with  rare  judg- 
ment, and  then  continued  his  journey  to  England.  In 
London  he  received  many  honors  ;  the  king  gave  him  an 
order  for  a  group,  held  several  conversations  with  him, 
made  him  valuable  gifts,  and  intrusted  him  with  a  private 
letter  to  the  pope. 

Canova  returned  to  Rome  on  January  5th,  1816.  His 
entry  might  almost  be  called  a  triumphal  one,  for  the  peo- 
ple of  Rome  were  so  grateful  for  the  restoration  of  their 
treasures  that  they  expressed  their  joy  in  demonstrations  to 
Canova.     He  had  been  President  of  St.  Luke's  Academy 


244  SCULPTURE. 

before  ;  he  was  now  made  President  of  the  Commission  to- 
purchase  works  of  art,  and  of  the  Academy  of  Archaeology. 
In  full  consistory  of  all  the  high  officers  of  the  Church,  the 
pope  caused  his  name  to  be  inscribed  upon  the  "golden 
v^olume  of  the  Capitol,"  and  conferred  upon  him  the  title  of 
Marquis  of  Ischia,  with  a  pension  of  three  thousand  crowns 
a  year. 

Canova  now  determined  to  execute  a  colossal  statue  of 
Religion,  which  should  commemorate  the  return  of  the  pope 
from  banishment.  He  endeavored  to  persuade  the  authori- 
ties to  decide  where  it  should  be  placed  ;  this  was  not  done, 
and  he  was  much  grieved  at  his  failure  to  carry  out  the 
idea.  But  he  determined  that  from  this  time  he  would  de- 
vote his  life  and  fortune  to  religion,  and  resolved  to  erect  a 
church  at  Possagno,  to  adorn  it  with  works  of  art,  and  to 
make  it  his  own  burial-place. 

On  July  8th,  1819,  Canova  assembled  his  workmen  in 
his  native  town,  and  gave  them  a  fete  ;  many  peasant  girls 
joined  in  the  festivities  and  assisted  in  the  breaking  of  the 
ground  ;  at  evening,  as  they  all  passed  before  Canova  to 
bid  him  farewell,  each  one  received  a  gift  from  him.  Three 
days  later  the  religious  ceremony  of  laying  the  corner-stone 
of  the  future  church  took  place.  An  immense  number  of 
people  from  the  surrounding  country  and  from  Venice  were 
present  ;  Canova,  in  his  robes  as  a  Knight  of  Christ,  and 
wearing  the  insignia  of  other  orders,  led  the  procession  ;  all 
who  had  seen  Canova  when  a  poor  boy  in  their  midst  were 
much  impressed  by  this  occasion.  Here,  in  a  public  man- 
ner, he  consecrated  his  life  and  fortune  to  the  service  of 
God  and  the  benefit  of  his  birthplace.  Every  autumn 
Canova  went  to  Possagno  to  encourage  the  workmen  and  to 
give  directions  as  to  how  the  whole  should  be  done.  Be- 
tween these  visits  he  worked  devotedly,  for  he  was  forced 
to  earn  all  he  could  in  order  to  pay  for  his  great  undertak- 
ing. 


CANOVA.  24s 

At  this  time  he  executed  a  statue  of  Washington,  and 
was  making  an  equestrian  statue  of  Ferdinand  of  Naples, 
and  in  the  month  of  May,  1822,  went  to  that  city,  where  he 
fell  ill  ;  he  returned  to  Rome,  and  revived  somewhat,  and 
resumed  his  work.  On  September  17th  he  went  to  Pos- 
sagno,  in  October  to  Villa  Faliero,  where,  fifty  years  before, 
he  had  spent  such  happy  days.  From  here  he  went  to 
Venice,  and  on  the  13th  of  the  same  month  he  died. 

Solemn  services  were  held  in  the  cathedral,  and  his 
remains  were  then  intrusted  to  the  priests  of  Possagno,  who 
bore  them  to  their  temple,  where  he  was  buried  on  the 
25th  of  the  month  ;  the  crowd  was  so  great  that  the  oration 
was  delivered  in  the  open  air.  Canova's  heart  was  given  to 
the  Academy  of  Venice,  and  an  elegant  little  monument 
was  erected  in  the  Palace  of  Arts  to  contain  this  relic  of  the 
sculptor.  The  Venetian  artists  arranged  to  erect  to  him  a 
monument,  and  chose  the  design  which  he  himself  had 
made  for  the  tomb  of  Titian  ;  it  is  in  the  Church  of  Santa 
Maria  de'  Frari.  In  Rome  a  statue  was  decreed  to  him, 
and  he  was  declared  the  perpetual  President  of  her  chief 
academy. 

In  personal  appearance  Canova  was  not  grand  or  very 
attractive.  His  head  was  remarkably  well  placed  upon  his 
shoulders,  and  the  loose  manner  in  which  he  dressed  his 
neck  allowed  this  to  be  seen  ;  his  forehead  was  a  noble  one, 
his  hair  black,  and  his  whole  manner  and  dress  was  modest 
and  simple.  His  habits  were  very  orderly  and  quiet  ;  he 
rose  early  to  work,  and  went  little  into  public  society  ;  but 
he  welcomed  a  few  friends  to  dinner  almost  daily.  He 
entertained  them  cordially,  but  without  display,  and  led  the 
conversation  to  light,  cheerful  topics  that  did  not  touch 
upon  art,  or  demand  mental  exertion.  At  eleven  o'clock 
he  retired  to  his  own  room  and  amused  himself  with  a  book 
or  pencil  before  sleeping.  Some  of  his  best  drawings  were 
made  at  this  hour,  and  have  been  published  with  the  title  of 


246 


SCULPTURE. 


"  Pensleri,"  or  thoughts. 
To  describe  one  day  was 
to  give  a  picture  of  all,  so 
regular  were  his  habits  of 
life. 

In  his  professional  life 
he  was  just  and  generous 
to  others,  and  though  he 
would  have  no  pupils,  he 
would  leave  everything  to 
advise  an  artist  or  visit 
his  works.  He  was  also  a 
patron  of  art,  and  had  ex- 
ecuted, at  his  own  ex- 
pense, the  numerous  busts 
of  distinguished  persons  in 
the  Capitoline  Museum. 

There  is  a  story  of  a 
romance  in  his  life.  It  is 
said  that  when  he  first  ar- 
rived in  Venice  he  fell  in 
love  with  a  beautiful  girl 
who  was  older  than  him- 
self, who  went  to  draw  in 
the  Farsetti  Gallery.  Day 
by  day  he  watched  her 
until  she  came  no  more  ; 
at  length  her  attendant 
returned,  and  Canova  in- 
quired for  her  mistress  ; 
she  burst  into  tears  and 
answered,  "  La  Signora 
Julia  is  dead."  He  asked  no  more,  and  never  knew  who 
Julia  was  or  any  circumstances  of  her  history  ;  but  all 
his  life  he  treasured  her  image,   and  when  he  endeavored 


Fig.  116. — Hkbe.     By  Canova. 


ANTOINE   CHAUDET.  247 

to  unite  the  purity  of  an  angel  with  the  earthly  beauty 
of  a  woman,  the  remembrance  of  Julia  was  always  in  his 
mind. 

Canova  was  one  of  the  few  artists  who  received  their  full 
merit  of  praise  and  the  benefits  of  their  labors  while  alive. 
Without  doubt  he  was  a  great  sculptor,  and  coming  as  he 
did,  at  a  time  when  art  was  at  its  worst,  he  seemed  all  the 
more  remarkable  to  the  men  around  him.  But  the  verdict 
of  to-day  would  not  exalt  him  as  highly  as  did  his  friends 
and  patrons.  His  statues  lack  the  repose  which  makes  the 
grandest  feature  of  the  best  sculpture  ;  his  female  figures 
have  a  sentimental  sort  of  air  that  is  not  all  we  could  wish, 
and  does  not  elevate  them  above  what  we  may  call  pleasing 
art.  His  male  figures  are  better,  more  natural  and  simple, 
though  some  of  his  subjects  bordered  on  the  coarse  and 
brutal,  as  in  the  two  fencers,  Kreugas  and  Damoxenes,  or 
Hercules  and  Lichas.  But  in  his  religious  subjects  he  is 
much  finer,  and  in  some  of  his  monuments  he  shows  dignity 
and  earnestness,  while  his  composition  is  in  the  true  artistic 
spirit.  Taken  on  the  whole,  he  was  a  wonderful  artist  and 
a  man  of  whom  his  century  might  well  be  proud. 

Other  sculptors  of  this  period  and  of  different  nations 
studied  at  Rome,  and  devoted  themselves  to  the  antique 
with  enthusiasm.  One  of  these  was  AntOINE  Denis 
Chaudet  (1763-18 10),  who  was  born  at  Paris.  His  talent 
was  so  early  developed  that  he  was  admitted  to  the  Royal 
Academy  when  fourteen  years  old,  and  when  twenty-one 
he  gained  the  first  prize,  and  with  the  royal  pension  went  to 
Rome,  where  he  remained  five  years.  He  soon  took  good 
rank  among  artists  of  that  time,  for  he  was  a  designer  and 
painter  as  well  as  sculptor.  He  adhered  strictly  to  the 
antique  style,  and  attained  much  purity,  though  he  was 
always  cold  in  treatment.  He  was  made  a  Professor  of 
Sculpture  in  the  French  Academy,  and  made  valuable  con- 
tributions to  the  "  Dictionary  of  Fine  Arts." 


248  SCULPTURE. 

Chaudet's  principal  works  in  sculpture  were  the  silver 
statue  of  Peace  in  the  Tuileries  ;  a  statue  of  Cincinnatus  in 
the  Senate  Chamber  ;  a  statue  of  CEdipus  ;  a  bas-relief  of 
Painting,  Sculpture,  and  Architecture,  in  the  Mus6e  Napo- 
leon, and  many  busts  and  smaller  w^orks. 

He  also  designed  numerous  medals  and  some  of  the 
illustrations  for  a  fine  edition  of  Racine,  and  painted  a  pic- 
ture of  ^Eneas  and  Anchises  in  the  Burning  of  Troy. 

JOHANN  Heinrich  Dannecker  (1758-1841)  was  born 
at  Stuttgart.  By  a  statue  of  Milo  he  gained  the  prize  of 
the  academy  founded  by  Duke  Charles  Eugene,  and  with 
the  royal  pension  he  went  first  to  Paris  and  then  to  Rome, 
where  he  studied  seven  years.  He  then  returned  to  Wiir- 
temberg,  and  was  made  Director  of  the  Royal  Academy, 
with  a  salary  of  fifteen  thousand  francs  a  year.  During 
fifteen  years  Dannecker  maintained  a  high  rank  in  his  art, 
but  his  health  became  so  feeble  that  he  was  forced  to  see 
others  excel  him.  One  of  his  works  has  a  wide  reputation, 
and  is  known  to  many  people  the  world  over,  through  the 
generosity  of  Herr  Bethmann  of  Frankfort,  who  admits 
visitors  to  his  gallery,  and  from  the  models  and  pictures 
which  have  been  made  from  it  ;  it  is  the  Ariadne  on  a 
Panther  (Fig.  117). 

Dannecker  had  a  delicate  feeling  for  nature  ;  his  figures 
were  light  and  graceful,  and  his  heads  were  noble  in  expres 
sion.  He  labored  eight  years  upon  a  figure  of  Christ,  which 
belongs  to  the  Emperor  of  Russia  ;  in  Stuttgart  a  nymph 
pouring  water  on  Neckar  Street  and  two  nymphs  on  a 
reservoir  in  the  palace  garden  show  his  fine  taste  in  archi- 
tectural sculpture.  Among  his  other  works  are  a  statue  of 
Alexander,  a  monument  to  Count  Zeppelin,  a  Cupid,  and  a 
Maiden  lamenting  a  Dead  Bird.  Some  of  his  works  are 
among  the  very  best  productions  of  modern  sculpture  ;  his 
portraits  are  noble  and  true  to  nature  ;  the  works  named 
here  are  by  no  means  all  that  he  did,  and  we  should  add 


Fig.   117. — Ariadne  and  the  Panther.     By  Dannecker. 


Tt:- 


250  SCULPTURE. 

that  his  efforts  in  reh'gious  subjects  exhibit  a  pure  sense  of 
the  beautiful,  and  a  true  conception  of  Christian  ideas. 

We  come  now,  for  the  first  time,  to  a  great  EngHsh 
sculptor.  John  Flaxman  (1755-1826)  was  born  in  York, 
but  while  he  was  still  an  infant  his  father  removed  to  Lon- 
don, where  he  kept  a  plaster-cast  shop.  The  boy  began  to 
draw  and  even  to  model  very  early  ;  when  but  five  years 
old  he  kept  some  soft  wax,  with  which  he  could  take  an  im- 
pression from  any  seal  or  ring  or  coin  which  pleased  him. 
He  was  very  delicate  in  health,  and  was  once  thought  to  be 
dead,  and  was  prepared  for  burial,  when  animation  re- 
turned ;  his  parents  tried  to  gratify  all  his  wishes,  and 
while  a  child  he  modelled  a  great  number  of  figures  in  wax, 
clay,  and  plaster. 

By  the  time  he  was  ten  years  old  he  was  much  stronger, 
and  was  able  to  use  the  activity  which  corresponded  to  his 
enthusiastic  feeling  and  imagination.  x\bout  this  time  he 
read  "  Don  Quixote,"  and  was  so  moved  by  the  adventures 
of  that  hero  that  he  went  out  early  one  morning  armed 
with  a  toy  sword  and  bent  upon  protecting  some  forlorn 
damsel  ;  he  went  to  Hyde  Park  and  wandered  about  all 
day,  not  finding  any  one  who  was  in  need  of  his  services. 
At  night  he  returned  home,  very  hungry  and  weary,  to  find 
his  family  in  great  alarm  over  his  unusual  absence. 

He  now  spent  all  his  time  in  drawing  and  modelling, 
and  never  had  more  than  two  lessons  from  a  master  ;  at 
eleven  years  of  age  he  began  to  gain  various  prizes,  and  at 
fourteen  was  admitted  to  study  at  the  Royal  Academy,  and 
gained  the  silver  medal  there  that  same  year.  About  this 
time  he  made  some  friends  who  aided  him  to  study  the 
classics  and  to  learn  more  of  history,  all  of  which  was  of 
great  use  to  him  in  his  art.  He  was  also  fortunate  in  hav- 
ing the  friendship  of  Mr.  Wedgwood,  for  whom  he  made 
many  models.      He  also  painted  a  few  pictures  in  oil. 

Among   his   earliest   sculptures  were  a  group  of  Venus 


FLAXMAN.  251 

and  Cupid  and  a  monument  to  Mrs.  Morley,  who,  with 
her  baby,  died  at  sea.  Flaxman  represented  the  mother 
and  child  rising  from  the  sea  and  being  received  by  descend- 
ing angels. 

In  1782  Flaxman  married  Miss  Ann  Denman,  whose  in- 
telligence and  love  of  art  were  of  great  assistance  to  her 
husband.  In  1787  he  went  to  Rome,  where  he  remained 
seven  years.  During  this  time  he  made  a  group  for  Lord 
Bristol,  representing  the  Fury  of  Athamas,  from  the  Meta- 
morphoses of  Ovid  ;  this  work  cost  him  much  labor,  for 
which  he  received  but  small  pay  ;  it  was  carried  to  Ireland 
and  then  to  Ickworth  House,  in  Suffolk,  where  but  few 
people  see  it.  In  Rome  Flaxman  also  made  a  group  of 
Cephalus  and  Aurora  for  Mr.  Thomas  Hope,  and  the  de- 
signs from  Homer,  ^schylus,  and  Dante,  which  have  such 
a  world-wide  fame. 

In  1794  he  returned  to  England,  where  he  was  con- 
stantly employed  on  important  works  until  his  death.  We 
cannot  give  a  list  of  his  numerous  works.  Many  of  his 
monuments  are  seen  in  the  churches  of  England.  In  Glas- 
gow are  his  statues  of  Mr.  Pitt  and  Sir  John  Moore,  in 
bronze  ;  in  Edinburgh  is  that  of  Robert  Burns.  Flaxman 
executed  much  sculpture  for  the  East  Indies,  one  of  these 
works  being  unfinished  when  he  died.  Some  critics  con- 
sider his  Archangel  Michael  and  Satan  his  best  work  ;  it 
was  made  for  the  Earl  of  Egremont,  who  had  his  life-size 
Apollo  also. 

In  1797  Flaxman  was  elected  an  Associate  of  the  Royal 
Academy,  in  1800  an  Academician,  and  in  18 10,  when  a 
Professor  of  Sculpture  was  added  to  the  other  professors  of 
the  Academy,  he  was  appointed  to  the  office.  His  lectures 
have  been  published.  The  friezes  on  the  Covent  Garden 
Theatre  were  all  designed  by  Flaxman,  and  he  executed 
the  figure  of  Comedy  himself.  His  last  work  was  making 
designs  for  the  exterior  decoration  of  Buckingham  Palace, 


252  SCULPTURE. 

which  would  have  been  entirely  under  his  direction  and 
partly  executed  by  him  if  he  had  lived. 

His  wife  died  in  1820,  and  her  loss  was  a  grief  from 
which  he  could  not  recover  ;  she  had  been  a  great  advan- 
tage to  him,  and  he  had  depended  much  upon  her  sympathy 
and  counsel.  Flaxman  was  a  singularly  pure  man,  and  so 
attractive  in  manner  that  he  was  the  friend  of  old  and 
young  alike. 

Sir  Richard  Westmacott  succeeded  Flaxman  as  Profes- 
sor at  the  Royal  Academy  ;  he  said  :  "  But  the  greatest  of 
modern  sculptors  was  our  illustrious  countryman,  John 
Flaxman,  who  not  only  had  all  the  fine  feeling  of  the  an- 
cient Greeks  (which  Canova  in  a  degree  possessed),  but 
united  to  it  a  readiness  of  invention  and  a  simplicity  of 
design  truly  astonishing.  Though  Canova  was  his  superior 
in  the  manual  part,  high  finishing,  yet  in  the  higher  quali- 
ties, poetical  feeling  and  invention,  Flaxman  was  as  supe- 
rior to  Canova  as  was  Shakespeare  to  the  dramatists  of  his 
day." 

But  the  perfection  of  the  results  of  the  study  of  Canova 
and  others  who  endeavored  to  raise  sculpture  to  its  ancient 
glory  was  seen  in  the  Dane,  Bertel  Thurwaldsex 
( 1 770-1 844),  who  was  born  in  Copenhagen.  The  descent  of 
this  artist  has  been  traced  to  memorable  sources  in  two 
quite  distinct  ways.  Those  who  claim  that  the  Norsemen 
discovered  America  relate  that  during  their  stay  upon  this 
coast  a  child  was  born,  from  whom  Thorwaldsen's  descent 
can  be  distinctly  followed.  The  learned  genealogists  of 
Iceland  say  that  his  ancestors  were  descended  from  Harald 
Hildetand,  King  of  Denmark,  who,  in  the  eighth  centur}', 
was  obliged  to  flee,  first  to  Norway  and  then  to  Iceland,  and 
that  one  of  his  descendants,  Oluf  Paa,  in  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury, was  a  famous  wood-carver.  But  this  much  is  certain  : 
in  the  fourteenth  century  there  lived  in  Southern  Iceland  a 
wealthy  man,  whose  family  and  descendants  were  much  hon- 


TIIORWALDSEN. 


253 


ored.  One  of  these,  Thorvald  Gottskalken,  a  pastor,  had 
two  sons  and  but  a  small  fortune  ;  so  he  sent  his  sons  to 
Copenhagen,  where  one  became  a  jeweller  and  died  young  ; 
the  other,  who  was  a  wood-carver,  was  the  father  of  the 
artist,  whose  mother  was  Karen  Groulund,  the  daughter  of 
a  Jutland  peasant. 

The  father  was  employed  in  a  shipyard,  and  carved  only 
the  rude  ornaments  of  vessels  and  boats  ;  but  these  served 
to  lead  the  mind  of  the  little  Bertel  to  the  art  he  later  fol- 
lowed. His  father  could  not  have  dreamed  of  such  a  future 
as  came  to  his  son,  but  he  was  wise  enough  to  know  that 
the  boy  might  do  more  and  better  than  he  had  done,  and 
he  sent  him,  when  eleven  years  old,  to  the  free  school  of 
the  Royal  Academy  to  study  drawing  ;  and  very  soon  the 
works  of  the  father  showed  the  gain  which  the  son  had 
made,  for  his  designs  were  those  now  used  by  the  old 
wood-carver. 

Bertel  was  also  sent  to  study  his  books  at  the  school  of 
Charlottenburg,  and  here  he  was  so  far  from  clever  that  he 
was  put  in  the  lowest  class.  When  Bertel  gained  his  first 
prize  at  the  academy  the  chaplain  of  the  school  at  Charlot- 
tenburg asked  him  if  the  boy  who  had  taken  the  prize  was 
his  brother.  He  looked  up  with  surprise,  and  blushing, 
said,  "It  is  myself,  Herr  Chaplain."  The  priest  was  as- 
tounded at  this,  and  said,  "  Herr  Thorwaldsen,  please  to 
pass  up  to  the  first  class." 

The  boy  was  amazed  at  these  honors,  and  from  this  day 
retained  the  title  of  "  Herr,"  which  gave  him  much  distinc- 
tion. When,  after  many  years,  the  sculptor  had  been 
loaded  with  honors,  and  stood  on  the  heights  of  fame,  he 
was  accustomed  to  say  that  no  glory  had  ever  been  so  sweet 
to  him  as  that  first  rapture  which  came  from  the  words  of 
the  Chaplain  Hoyer  when  he  was  seventeen  years  old  and  a 
poor  school-boy. 

The  effect  of  this  first   prize   seemed   to  be  to  rouse  his 


254  SCULPTURE. 

ambition,  and  he  worked  with  the  greatest  diligence  and 
earnestness.  Two  years  later  he  made  a  bas-relief  of  Love 
in  Repose,  which  took  the  large  silver  medal.  His  father 
now  thought  him  prepared  to  enter  on  the  life  of  a  ship's 
carver,  and  Bertel  made  no  objection  to  doing  so  ;  but  the 
painter  Abildgaard,  who  had  been  his  teacher  in  the  acad- 
emy, had  grown  very  fond  of  him,  and  saw  how  much  talent 
he  had,  and  could  not  think  of  his  being  but  a  common 
tradesman  without  deep  regret.  He  went,  therefore,  to  the 
old  carver,  and  after  some  difficulty  obtained  his  consent 
that  his  son  should  spend  half  his  time  in  study  at  the  acad- 
emy, and  the  other  half  in  the  earning  of  his  daily  bread 
at  his  father's  side. 

In  1790,  when  twenty  years  old,  Thorwaldsen  made  a 
medallion  of  the  Princess  of  Denmark,  which  was  so  good 
a  likeness  that  a  number  of  copies  was  sold.  A  year  later 
he  gained  the  small  gold  medal  of  the  academy  by  a  bas- 
relief  of  the  Expulsion  of  Heliodorus  from  the  Temple. 
The  Minister  of  State  now  became  interested  in  the  young 
artist,  and  measures  were  taken  to  aid  him  to  go  on  with 
his  studies.  His  patrons  desired  him  to  study  the  subjects 
of  the  antique  sculptures,  and  he  chose  that  of  Priam  beg- 
ging the  Body  of  Hector  from  Achilles.  Later  in  life  he 
repeated  this  subject,  and  it  is  interesting  to  notice  the 
strength  and  grandeur  of  the  second  when  compared  with 
the  weakness  of  the  first.  And  yet  it  was  from  the  latter 
that  predictions  were  made  of  Thorwaldsen 's  future  great- 
ness. In  1793  he  gained  the  prize  which  entitled  him  to 
travel  and  study  three  years  at  the  expense  of  the  academy. 
The  work  he  presented  was  a  bas-relief  of  Saint  Peter  heal- 
ing the  Paralytic.  In  these  works  this  sculptor  already 
showed  two  qualities  which  remained  the  same  through  his 
life  ;  in  his  subjects  from  antiquity  he  showed  a  Greek 
spirit,  which  has  led  some  writers  to  speak  of  him  as  a 
"  posthumous   Greek,"    or  a   true   Greek   artist    born    after 


THORVVALDSEN.  255 

Other  Greek  artists  had  died  ;  on  the  other  hand,  when  he 
treated  rehgious  subjects  his  spirit  was  like  that  of  the  best 
masters  of  the  Renaissance,  and  these  works  remind  us  of 
Raphael.  All  this  excellence  came  entirely  from  his  artistic 
nature,  for  outside  of  that  he  was  ignorant  ;  he  knew  noth- 
ing of  history  or  literature,  and  was  never  a  man  of  culture 
as  long  as  he  lived.  Outside  of  the  work  connected  with 
his  profession  Thorwaldsen  was  indolent,  and  only  acquired 
knowledge  of  other  matters  through  observation  or  from 
the  conversation  of  others. 

Although  he  gained  the  prize  which  allowed  him  to 
travel  in  1793,  he  did  not  leave  Copenhagen  until  May, 
1796.  In  the  mean  time  he  had  done  what  he  could  to  earn 
something  :  he  had  made  designs  for  book-publishers, 
given  lessons  in  drawing  and  modelling,  and  made  some 
bust  and  medallion  portraits,  reliefs,  and  so  on.  The  vessel 
in  which  the  young  sculptor  sailed  for  Naples  was  called  the 
Thetis,  and  the  captain  engaged  to  watch  over  him  ;  the 
voyage  was  long,  and  all  on  board  became  fond  of  Thor- 
waldsen, though  the  captain  wrote,  "  He  is  an  honest  boy, 
but  a  lazy  rascal."  This  opinion  is  very  amusing  when  we 
know  what  an  enormous  amount  of  labor  he  performed. 
At  Naples  he  remained  for  some  time,  and  saw  and  admired 
all  its  works  of  art.  He  did  not  reach  Rome  until  about 
nine  months  after  leaving  Copenhagen,  but  from  that  time 
his  whole  thought  and  life  were  changed.  He  was  accus- 
tomed to  say,  "  I  was  born  on  the  8th  of  March,  1797  ;  be- 
fore then  I  did  not  exist." 

While  in  Naples  Thorwaldsen  had  been  ill,  and  suffered 
from  a  malarial  affection,  which  compelled  him  to  be  idle 
much  of  the  time.  But  he  was  always  studying  the  an- 
tique  statues,  and  made  many  copies.  Some  of  the  first 
original  works  which  he  attempted  were  failures,  when,  at 
last,  he  modelled  a  colossal  statue  of  Jason,  which  was  well 
received  by  those  who   saw  it,  and  made  him  somewhat 


256 


SCULPTURE. 


famous  in  Rome  (Fig.  118).  Canova  praised  it,  and  other 
critics  did  the  same  ;  but  Thorwaldsen  had  no  money  ;  the 
academy  had  supported  him  six  years  ;  what  could  he  do  ? 

Quite  discouraged,  he  was  en- 
gaged in  his  preparations  for 
leaving  Rome,  when  Mr.  Thomas 
Hope,  the  English  banker,  gave 
him  an  order  for  the  Jason  in 
marble.  In  an  hour  his  life  was 
changed.  He  was  living  in  Rome 
not  as  a  student  on  charity,  but 
as  an  artist  gaining  his  living. 
We  are  forced  to  add  that  Mr. 
Hope  did  not  receive  this  statue 
until  1828,  and  Thorwaldsen  has 
been  much  blamed  for  his  ap- 
parent ingratitude  ;  but  we  can- 
not here  give  all  the  details  of 
the  unfortunate  affair. 

Thorwaldsen  had  a  true  and 
faithful  friend  in  Rome,thearch3e- 
ologist  Zoega  ;  at  his  house  the 
young  Dane  had  met  a  beautiful 
Italian  girl,  Anna  Maria  Magnani, 
whom  he  loved  devotedly.  She  was  too  ambitious  to  marry 
a  poor  sculptor,  so  she  married  a  rich  M.  d'Uhden  ;  but  she 
persuaded  Thorwaldsen  to  sign  an  agreement  by  which  he 
bound  himself  to  take  care  of  her  if  she  should  not  agree 
with  her  husband  and  should  leave  him  ;  this  was  just  what 
happened  in  1803,  ^^^^  the  sculptor  received  her  into  his 
house,  where  she  remained  sixteen  years,  when  she  disap- 
pears from  his  life.  He  provided  an  honorable  marriage  for 
their  daughter. 

In  1803  Thorwaldsen  also  made  the  acquaintance  of  the 
Baron  von  Schubart,   the   Danish   Minister,  who  presented 


Fig.  118. — Jason.     By  Thor- 
IV  aid  sen. 


THORWALDSEN.  257 

the   sculptor  to  Baron   von    Humboldt  ;   and    through  the 
friendship  of  these  two  men,  and  the  persons  to  whom  they 
presented    him,    Thorwaldsen    received    many   orders.     In 
1804  his  fame  had  become  so  well   established  that  he  re- 
ceived  orders  from  all  countries,  and  from  this  time,  durmg 
the  rest  of  his  life,  he  was  never  able  to  do  all  that  was 
required  of  him.      He  was  much  courted  in  society,  where 
he  was  praised  for  his  art  and  beloved  for  his  agreeable  and 
pleasing  manner.     In  this   same  year  he  was  made  a  Pro- 
fessor  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Florence  ;   and   though  the 
Academy  of  Copenhagen   expected  his  return,  they  would 
not  recall  him  from  the  scene  of  his  triumphs,  and  sent  him 
a  gift  of  four  hundred  crowns.      A  few  months  later  he  was 
made  a  member  of  the  Academy  of  Bologna  and  of  that  of 
his  native  city,  in  which  last  he  was  also  appointed  a  Fro- 

fessor 

Many  circumstances  conspired  to  increase  his  popularity 
and  to  excite  the  popular  interest  in  him,  when,  m  1805   he 
produced  the  bas-relief  of  the  Abduction  of  Bnseis.  which 
still  remains  one  of  his  most  celebrated  works.     His  Jason 
had  put  him  on  a  level  with  Canova,  who  was  then  at  the 
height  of  his  fame  ;  now  the  Briseis  was  said  by  many  to 
excel  the  same  type  of  works  by  Canova,  and  there  is  no 
question  that  in  bas-relief  the  Dane  was  the  better  sculptor  of 
the  two.     This  relief  and  his  group  of  Cupid  and  Psyche, 
which  was  completed  in   1805,  mark  the  era  at  which  Thor- 
waldsen reached  his  full  perfection  as  a  sculptor.     In    his 
same  year  he  modelled  his  first  statue  of  Venus  ;  it  was  less 
than  lite-size  ;  and  though  two  copies  of  it  were  fin'^h^d  ■" 
marble,   he   was   not   pleased   with    it,  and  destroyed   the 
model  :  later  he  made  the  same  statue  in  full  size. 

In  1806  he  received  his  first  commission  for  religious 
subjects,  which  consisted  of  two  baptismal  fonts  for  a 
church  in  the  island  of  Fionia.  But  he  w-as  devoted  to 
mythological  subjects,  and  preferred  them  before  all  others, 


258  SCULPTURE. 

and  in  this  same  year  modelled  a  Hebe  while  engaged  upon 
the  fonts.  His  industry  was  great,  but  he  found  time  to 
receive  many  visitors  at  his  studio,  and  went  frequently  into 
society.  At  the  house  of  Baron  von  Humboldt,  then  Prus- 
sian Ambassador  at  Rome,  Thorwaldsen  was  always  wel- 
come and  happy  ;  here  he  met  all  persons  of  note  who 
lived  in  or  who  visited  Rome. 

It  was  at  this  period  that  the  young  Prince  Louis  of 
Bavaria  entered  into  a  correspondence  with  Thorwaldsen, 
which  ended  only  with  the  sculptor's  life.  Louis  was  col- 
lecting objects  for  his  Glyptothek  at  Munich,  and  he  fre- 
quently consulted  Thorwaldsen  in  these  matters  ;  his  advice 
was  of  value,  and  he  more  than  once  saved  Louis  from  im- 
position by  dealers.  Louis  gave  the  sculptor  the  order  for 
the  fine  Adonis,  now  in  the  Glyptothek  ;  it  was  modelled  in 
1808,  but  was  not  completed  until  1832  ;  this  splendid  work 
was  executed  entirely  by  Thorwaldsen's  own  hands.  In 
1808  he  also  received  the  order  for  four  bas-reliefs  to  be 
used  in  the  restoration  of  the  Palace  of  Christiansborg, 
which  had  been  injured  by  fire.  This  was  the  year,  too, 
when  he  was  made  an  honorary  member  of  the  Academy  of 
St.  Luke. 

The  year  1809  brought  deep  sorrows  to  Thorwaldsen  in 
the  death  of  his  two  friends,  Stanley  and  Zoega.  He  inter- 
ested himself  in  the  settlement  of  the  affairs  of  the  latter, 
and  had  much  trouble  and  anxiety  ;  but  he  managed  to  ac- 
complish the  modelling  of  six  bas-reliefs  in  this  year,  in  spite 
of  the  disturbed  state  of  Rome  on  account  of  the  pope's 
departure,  and  in  spite  of  the  hindrances  in  his  own  life. 

In  1 8 10  the  King  of  Denmark  made  Thorwaldsen  a 
Knight  of  Danebrog,  and  he  was  then  known  in  Italy  as  the 
Cavalicre  Alberto.  His  work  this  year  was  in  bas-reliefs, 
and  in  181 1  he  modelled  a  colossal  statue  of  Mars,  the  bust 
of  Mademoiselle  Ida  Brun,  a  lovely  statue  of  Psyche,  and 
his  own  portrait  as  a  colossal  Hermes. 


THORWALDSEN.  259 

The  people  of  Denmark  were  growing  very  impatient  at 
the  prolonged  absence  of  their  artist.  He  had  left  home  a 
mere  boy,  and  was  now  famous  over  all  the  world.  They 
wished  for  his  return  ;  a  marble  quarry  had  been  discovered 
in  Norway,  and  even  Prince  Christian  Frederick  wrote 
to  Thorwaldsen  to  urge  his  going  home.  The  sculptor 
wished  to  go,  and  even  made  some  preparations  to  do  so, 
when  he  received  so  important  a  commission  that  it  was 
impossible  to  leave  Rome.  This  new  work  was  a  frieze  for 
one  of  the  great  halls  in  the  Quirinal  Palace.  He  chose  the 
Entrance  of  Alexander  the  Great  into  Babylon  for  his  sub- 
ject, and  it  proved  to  be  one  of  the  most  important  works 
of  his  life.  It  was  completed  in  June,  1812  ;  and  though  it 
had  been  somewhat  criticised  as  too  rough  in  its  finish, 
when  it  was  elevated  to  its  proper  height  it  was  all  that  had 
been  expected  by  the  artist's  friends  ;  later  he  repeated 
this  frieze  for  his  own  countrymen.  In  Rome  he  was  now 
frequently  called  the  "  Patriarch  of  Bas-relief."  Soon 
after  this  he  was  made  a  member  of  the  Imperial  Academy 
of  Vienna. 

In  18 1 3  Thorwaldsen  was  again  a  victim  of  malignant 
fever,  and  visited  the  baths  of  Lucca,  in  company  with  the 
Baron  and  Baroness  von  Schubart,  for  the  benefit  of  his 
health.  He  met  many  people  and  received  much  honor, 
especially  Jrom  the  Grand  Duchess  of  Tuscany.  His  health 
was  improved,  but  his  old  and  tried  friend,  the  Baroness 
von  Schubart,  died  the  winter  following  ;  he  felt  her  loss 
deeply,  for  she  had  been  his  friend  and  confidante  from  the 
time  of  his  arrival  in  Rome. 

He  was  always  busy,  and  one  after  another  of  his 
almost  numberless  works  was  finished.  In  18 15  he  made 
the  Achilles  and  Priam,  a  relief  which  is  sometimes  called 
his  masterpiece  ;  in  the  same  year  he  made  the  famous 
and  familiar  medallions  of  Night  and  Morning  ;  it  is  said 
that  he  conceived  the  first  while  awake  in  a  sleepless,  rest- 


26o 


SCULPTURE. 


less  condition,  and  modelled  it  entirely  on  the  following- 
day  ;  these  medallions  have  been  reproduced  in  all  possible 
forms — in  engravings,  on  cameos,  gems,  in  rnetals,  and  a 
variety  of  marble,  plaster,  and  porcelain. 

About  this  time  Thorwaldsen  removed  to  a  spacious 
studio  with  gardens,  and  received  pupils,  and  was  over- 
whelmed with  orders,  so  that  he  could  not  yet  go  to  Den- 
mark, in  spite  of  the  urgent  letters  he  received.  He  ex- 
ecuted  many   important   original  works,  and  also  restored 

the  marbles  of  ^"Egi- 
na,  now  at  Munich  ; 
this  was  a  great 
task,  but  his  study 
of  the  antique  had 
made  him  better 
able  to  do  it  than 
was  any  other  mod- 
ern sculptor. 

The  exquisite 
group  of  Ganymede 
and  the  Eagle  (Fig. 
119)  shows  the  ef- 
fect of  his  study  of 
the  antique,  and  the 
same  may  be  said 
of  his  statue  of 
Hope,  a  small  copy 
of  which  was  after- 
ward placed  above 
the  tomb  of  the 
Baroness  von  Hum- 
boldt. The  Three 
Graces  (Fig.  120)  belongs  to  the  year  1817  ;  the  Mercury 
was  of  about  this  date,  as  well  as  the  elegant  statue  of  the 
Princess  Baryatinskn,  which  is  his  finest  portrait  statue. 


Fig.   119. — Ganymkdk  and  the  Eagle. 
By    Thorwaldsen 


THORWALDSEN. 


261 


After  an  absence  from  Denmark  of  twenty-three  years 
he  left   Rome   in   July,  1819,   and   turned   his   face  toward 
home.     His  model   for  the   famous  Lion  of  Lucerne  had 
already  been  sent  on 
before  him,  and   the 
work  commenced  by 
one     of    his    pupils, 
Bienaime.  Thorwald- 
sen  first  went  to  Lu- 
cerne, where  he  gave 
all   necessary    advice 
in  this  work,  and  then 
proceeding     on      his 
journey  reached   Co- 
penhagen  on  the  3d 
of  October.     Apart- 
ments had  been  pre- 
pared  for  him  in  the 
Academy     of      Fine 
Arts,  and  as  soon  as 
it  was  known  that  he 
was    there    he     was 
the  centre  of  attrac- 
tion and  importance. 
Crowds  went  to  wel- 
come    him     to     his 
home.     A    great    re- 
ception and  a  grand 


Fig.  120.— The  Three  Graces. 
By   Thorxoaldsen. 


banquet  were  given  in  his  honor,  and  he  was  lauded  to 
the  skies  in  speeches,  and  was  made  a  Counsellor  of  State, 
in  order  that  he  might  sit  at  table  with  the  royal  family 
and  not  violate  the  court  etiquette. 

All  this  must  have  gratified  the  artist,  who  had  earned 
such  proud  honors  by  the  force  of  his  genius  ;  but  it  mter- 
ests  us  much  more  to  know  that  he  received  commissions 


262  SCULPTURE. 

for  some  very  important  works,  among  which  those  of  the 
Church  of  Our  Lady  are  very  interesting.  The  orders  for 
all  the  work  which  he  did  here  were  not  given  at  once,  but 
in  the  end  it  became  a  splendid  monument  to  this  sculptor, 
and  embraces  almost  all  his  religious  works  of  any  impor- 
tance. There  are  the  figures  of  Christ  and  the  Twelve 
Apostle^  ;  the  Angel  of  Baptism,  which  is  an  exquisite 
font  ;  the  Preaching  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  which  is  a 
group  in  terra-cotta  on  the  pediment  of  the  church  ;  a  bas- 
relief  in  marble  of  the  Institution  of  the  Lord's  Supper  ; 
another  in  plaster  of  Christ's  Entry  into  Jerusalem  ;  one  of 
Christ  Bearing  the  Cross  ;  one  of  the  Baptism  of  Christ  ; 
another  of  the  Guardian  Angel,  and  one  of  Christian 
Charity. 

He  did  not  remain  very  long  in  Denmark,  but  went  to 
Warsaw,  where  he  had  been  summoned  to  arrange  for  some 
important  works.  He  was  presented  to  the  Emperor  Alex- 
ander, who  gave  him  sittings  for  a  portrait  bust  ;  this  was 
so  successful  that  for  some  years  Thorwaldsen  employed 
skilled  workmen  to  constantly  repeat  it,  in  order  to  fill  the 
demand  for  it  which  was  made  upon  him.  While  at  War- 
saw he  received  an  order  for  a  monument  to  Copernicus, 
which  was  dedicated  in  1830  ;  other  important  commissions 
were  given  him,  and  after  visiting  Cracow,  Troppau,  and 
Vienna,  he  reached  Rome  in  December,  1820,  where  he 
was  heartily  welcomed  by  the  artists,  who  gave  him  a  ban- 
quet, on.  which  occasion  the  Prince  Royal  of  Denmark  sat 
next  to  the  sculptor. 

Before  this  a  correspondence  had  established  a  friend- 
ship between  Thorwaldsen  and  Prince  Louis  of  Bavaria  ; 
but  from  the  year  182 1  intimate  personal  relations  existed 
between  them.  He  took  up  work  with  great  energy  ;  he 
had  returned  to  Rome  with  so  much  to  do  that  he  required 
much  room,  and  employed  a  large  company  of  workmen. 
In  the  summer  of    1822   he  was  able  to  secure  a  lari]^e  build- 


THORWALDSEN.  263 

ing  which  had  been  used  for  a  stable  to  the  Barberini  Pal- 
ace, and  here  he  was  able  to  set  up  all  his  large  models. 

In  1824  Thorwaldsen  was  summoned  by  the  Cardinal 
Consalvi,  who  gave  him  the  commission  for  the  monument 
to  Pius  VII.,  now  in  the  Clementine  Chapel  of  St.  Peter's 
at  Rome  ;  this  work  was  not  completed  when  the  cardinal 
himself  died,  and  his  own  monument  by  Thorwaldsen  was 
placed  in  the  Pantheon  before  that  of  Pius  VII.  was  put  in 
its  place.  He  also  made  a  cross  for  the  Capuchins  for 
which  he  would  accept  no  reward,  though  they  were  entirely 
satisfied  with  it. 

In  1825  Thorwaldsen  was  elected  President  of  the  Acad- 
emy of  St.  Luke  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  Pope 
Leo  XII.,  who  paid  him  a  visit  in  his  studio.  Many  delays 
occurred,  and  the  monument  to  Pius  VII.  was  not  erected 
until  1831. 

The  works  upon  which  the  artist  and  his  assistants  were 
engaged  were  far  too  numerous  to  be  mentioned  ;  he  was 
at  the  very  height  of  fame  and  popularity,  and  was  forced 
to  refuse  some  of  the  commissions  sent  him.  In  1830  he 
went  to  Munich  to  superintend  the  setting  up  of  his  monu- 
ment to  Eugene  Beauharnais,  the  Duke  of  Leuchtenberg. 
This  gave  Louis  of  Bavaria  an  opportunity  to  show  his  re- 
gard for  the  sculptor,  which  he  did  in  every  possible  way. 
Soon  after  the  monument  was  unveiled  Thorwaldsen  re- 
ceived the  cross  of  an  ofificer  of  the  Legion  of  Honor. 

Thorwaldsen's  place  in  Rome  was  a  very  important  one, 
not  only  as  an  artist,  but  as  a  man.  He  had  the  respect 
and  esteem  of  many  good  men  of  all  nations  ;  he  also 
suffered  some  things  from  the  envy  of  those  who  were  jeal- 
ous of  him,  as  is  the  case  with  all  successful  men  ;  but  he 
was  a  fearless  person,  and  did  not  trouble  himself  on  account 
of  these  things.  The  frequent  agitations  of  a  political 
nature,  however,  did  disturb  him,  and  he  began  to  think 
seriously   of   returning  to    Denmark.      In    1837,    when    the 


264  SCULPTURE. 

cholera  broke  out  in  Rome,  he  determined  to  leave;  his 
countrymen  were  delighted,  and  a  government  frigate  was 
sent  to  take  him  home  ;  he  sailed  from  Leghorn  in  August, 
1838.  His  arrival  was  hailed  with  joy  in  Denmark,  and 
wherever  he  went  his  progress  was  marked  by  tokens  of  the 
pride  which  his  countrymen  felt  in  him.  As  soon  as  it  was 
known  in  Copenhagen,  on  September  17th,  that  the  "  Rota," 
which  brought  the  sculptor,  was  in  the  harbor,  a  flag  was 
run  up  from  St.  Nicolas  Church  as  a  signal  for  the  begin- 
ning of  the  festivities  which  had  been  arranged. 

Although  it  rained  heavily,  boats  filled  with  artists, 
poets,  students,  physicians,  mechanics,  and  naval  officers 
went  out  to  meet  him  ;  each  boat  had  a  flag  with  an  appro- 
priate device,  that  of  the  artists  having  Thorwaldsen's 
Three  Graces,  the  poets,  a  Pegasus,  and  so  on.  The 
meeting  with  his  friends  on  the  deck  of  the  ship  was  a 
pleasant  surprise  to  the  artist,  who  was  hurried  ashore  amid 
the  firing  of  salutes  and  all  sorts  of  joyous  demonstrations, 
a  vast  number  of  boats  rowing  after  that  in  which  he  was 
seated.  His  carriage  was  drawn  by  the  people  from  the 
qua}'  to  Charlottenburg,  where  a  vast  crowd  assembled  to 
get  a  sight  at  him.  His  form  was  tall  and  erect,  his  step 
firm  ;  his  long  white  hair  fell  on  his  shoulders,  and  his  clear 
eye  and  benevolent  face  beamed  with  intelligence  and  sym- 
pathetic interest  in  all  around  him.  He  was  led  out  on  a 
balcony,  where,  uncovered,  he  saluted  the  people,  who 
greeted  him  with  wild  applause.  Thorwaldsen  smiled  and 
said,  "  Would  not  any  one  think  that  we  were  in  Rome, 
and  I  were  the  pope  about  to  give  the  benediction  iirbi  ct 
orbi  from  the  balcony  of  St.  Peter's  ?" 

One  ovation  after  another  followed,  day  by  day,  and 
such  crowds  of  visitors  went  to  see  him  that  he  was  unable 
to  unpack  and  arrange  his  possessions  which  he  had  brought 
from  Italy,  or  to  work  at  all,  which  was  worse  to  him.  At 
last  he  began  to  do  as  he  had  done  in  Rome,  and  to  receive 


THORWALDSEN.  265 

his  friends  with  his  chisel  or  modelling-stick  in  hand.  He 
lived  frugally,  and  continued  many  of  his  Roman  habits  of 
life  ;  but  he  was  forced  to  dine  out  every  evening. 

He  was  now  sixty-eight  years  old,  but  he  did  a  vast 
amount  of  work  in  one  way  and  another,  and  was  so  pur- 
sued by  all  sorts  of  people  who  wished  to  engage  his  atten- 
tion in  a  variety  of  projects,  that  he  seriously  considered 
the  question  of  leaving  Copenhagen.  He  became  very 
fond  of  certain  families  where  he  visited,  among  \vhich  was 
that  of  the  Baron  von  Stampe,  who,  with  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren, were  soon  treated  by  the  sculptor  as  if  they  were  his 
own  kindred.  He  went  with  them  to  their  summer  home 
at  Nysoe,  and  while  there  the  baroness  persuaded  him  to 
model  his  own  statue.  He  did  this  imperfectly,  as  he  had 
no  suitable  workshop  ;  and  when  the  baroness  saw  his  diffi- 
culty in  working  in  an  ordinary  room  she  had  a  studio  built 
for  him  in  a  garden  near  the  castle.  She  took  the  time  to 
do  this  when  Thorwaldsen  was  absent  for  eight  days,  and 
in  this  short  space  the  whole  was  completed,  so  that  when 
he  returned  it  seemed  to  him  like  magic.  This  studio  was 
dedicated  in  July,  1839. 

He  then  began  the  proper  modelling  of  his  own  statue, 
and  was  progressing  very  well  when  he  received  a  letter 
from  the  poet  Oehlenschlaeger,  who  was  in  great  haste  to 
have  a  portrait  bust  made  of  himself.  Thorwaldsen  felt 
that  he  ought  not  to  make  his  own  statue  when  thus 
wanted  for  other  work,  and  he  threw  down  his  tools,  and 
would  have  broken  the  model.  But  the  baroness  succeeded 
in  getting  him  away,  and  locked  the  studio,  keeping  the 
key.  How^ever,  no  argument  or  entreaty  would  move  the 
sculptor,  and  she  could  do  nothing  with  him  until  she  hap- 
pened to  think  of  crying.  When  she  began  to  weep  and  to 
accuse  him  of  having  no  affection  for  her,  and  reminded 
him  of  the  proofs  of  her  devotion  which  she  had  given  him, 
he  was  taken  in  by  her  mock  tears,  and  exclaimed,  "  Well, 


266  SCULPTURE. 

they  may  think  what  they  like.  My  statue  is  not  for  pos- 
terity, but  I  cannot  refuse  it  to  a  friend  to  whom  it  will 
•give  such  pleasure."  He  then  resumed  his  work,  and  com- 
pleted his  statue  in  seventeen  days.  He  represented  him- 
self standing  with  one  arm  resting  upon  his  statue  of  Hope. 

After  this  summer  Thorwaldsen  divided  his  time  be- 
tween Copenhagen  and  Stampeborg,  and  worked  with  the 
same  industry  in  one  place  as  in  the  other.  The  life  in  the 
country  was  a  great  delight  to  him  ;  he  played  games, 
listened  to  fairy  tales  from  the  poet  Andersen,  or  to  music 
from  the  young  girls  of  the  house,  all  with  equal  pleasure  ; 
and  if  he  were  allowed  to  have  his  mornings  for  work  he 
would  spend  the  rest  of  the  day  in  the  woods  or  pay  visits, 
and  was  perfectly  happy  in  this  succession  of  labor  and 
leisure. 

Baroness  Stampe  did  not  stop  at  one  trick  upon  the  old 
artist,  for  she  found  it  more  easy  to  gain  a  point  in  this 
way  than  by  argument.  He  had  promised  to  execute  a 
statue  of  Christian  IV.  for  Christian  VHL,  the  reigning 
king  ;  he  put  it  off  until  the  king  was  impatient.  One  day, 
when  he  had  gone  for  a  walk,  the  baroness  went  to  the 
studio  and  began  a  sketch  in  clay  as  well  as  she  could. 
When  Thorwaldsen  returned  he  asked  what  she  was  doing, 
and  she  answered,  "  I  am  making  the  statue  of  the  king. 
Since  you  will  not  do  it,  and  I  have  pledged  my  word,  I 
must  doit  myself."  The  artist  laughed,  and  began  to  criti- 
cise her  work  ;  she  insisted  it  was  all  right,  and  at  last  said, 
"  Do  it  better,  then,  yourself  ;  you  make  fun  of  me  ;  I  defy 
you  to  find  anything  to  change  in  my  work."  Thorwald- 
sen was  thus  led  on  to  correct  the  model,  and  when  once 
he  had  begun  he  finished  it. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  give  any  account  here  of  the 
numerous  incidents  in  the  later  years  of  the  life  of  this 
sculptor  ;  of  th.e  honors  he  received,  of  the  many  works 
he  was  consulted  about  and  asked  to  do,  of   the  visits   he 


THORWALDSEN.  267 

paid  and  received  from  persons  of  note  ;  few  lives  are  as 
full  as  was  his,  and  the  detailed  accounts  of  it  are  very  in- 
teresting. 

He  had   always  desired  to  go  again  to  Rome,  and  in 

1 841,  when  the  Baron  von  Stampe  decided  to  go  there 
with  his  family,  Thorwaldsen  travelled  with  them.  They 
went  through  Germany,  and  were  everywhere  received  as 
honorably  as  if  he  were  a  royal  person  :  he  was  invited  to 
visit  royal  families  ;  court  carriages  were  at  his  service  : 
Mendelssohn  gave  a  musical  fete  for  him  ;  in  all  the  great 
cities  he  was  shown  the  places  and  objects  worthy  of  his 
attention  ;  poets  and  orators  paid  him  respect,  and  nothing 
that  could  be  done  to  show  appreciation  of  his  genius  and 
his  works  was  omitted. 

In  Rome  it  was  the  same  ;  he  remained  there  almost  a 
year,    and   upon   his   arrival    at   Copenhagen,    in    October, 

1842,  he  experienced  the  crowning  glory  of  his  life.  Dur- 
ing his  absence  the  Thorwaldsen  Museum  had  been  com- 
pleted, and  here,  the  day  after  he  reached  home,  he  was 
received.  The  building  was  decorated  with  garlands,  and 
he  went  over  the  whole  of  it  ;  at  last  he  entered  the  inner 
court,  where  he  was  to  be  buried  ;  here  he  stood  for  some 
time  with  bowed  head,  while  all  about  him  kept  silence. 
Can  any  one  fancy  the  thoughts  that  must  have  come  to 
him  ?  Here  he  must  be  buried,  and  yet  here  would  he  live 
in  the  works  of  his  hand  which  would  surround  him  and 
remain  to  testify  to  his  immortal  powers. 

He  lived  three  years  more,  and  was  always  busy.  His 
mind  was  strong  and  his  conceptions  of  his  subjects  had 
lost  nothing,  but  his  ability  to  execute  his  works  was  less  ; 
his  hand  had  lost  somewhat  of  its  cunning.  He  went 
much  into  society,  was  fond  of  the  theatre,  and  under  the 
devoted  care  of  his  servant,  VVilkens,  he  enjoyed  all  that 
was  possible  to  a  man  of  his  age.  On  the  24th  of  March, 
1844,  the  Baroness  von  Stampe  went  to  ask  him  to  dine  at 


268  SCULPTURE. 

her  house  ;  he  said  he  was  not  well  and  would  not  go  out  ; 
but  as  his  daughter  was  to  be  there  and  expected  him  he 
decided  to  go.  He  was  modelling  a  bust  of  Luther,  and 
threw  down  before  it  a  handful  of  clay  and  stuck  a  trowel 
in  it  ;  just  so,  as  he  left  it,  this  now  stands  in  the  museum, 
preserved  under  glass,  with  the  print  of  his  hand  in  the 
clay. 

He  was  merry  at  dinner,  and  in  speaking  of  the  museum 
said  he  could  die  now,  whenever  he  chose,  since  the  archi- 
tect BindesboU  had  finished  his  tomb.  After  dinner  he 
went  to  the  theatre,  and  there  it  was  seen  that  he  was 
really  ill  ;  he  was  taken  out  with  haste  and  laid  upon  a 
sofa,  when  it  was  found  that  he  was  already  dead.  The 
Charlottenburg  joined  the  theatre,  and  there,  in  the  hall 
of  antique  sculpture,  he  was  laid.  He  was  first  buried  in 
the  Frue  Kirke,  which  he  had  so  splendidly  decorated  ; 
four  years  later  he  was  borne  to  the  vault  in  the  centre  of 
the  Thorwaldsen  Museum,  where  above  him  grows  the 
evergreen  ivy,  a  fitting  emblem  of  his  unfading  fame. 

Thiele,  in  his  splendid  book  called  "  Thorwaldsen  and 
his  Works,"  gives  a  list  of  two  hundred  and  sixty  works 
by  this  master  ;  and  as  one  journeys  from  Rome,  where  are 
some  of  his  sculptures  in  St.  Peter's  and  the  Quirinal,  to 
Copenhagen,  with  the  Frue  Kirke  and  the  Museum,  one 
passes  through  few  cities  that  are  not  adorned  by  his  stat- 
ues and  reliefs.  Among  his  most  important  works  are  the 
frieze  of  Alexander's  entrance  into  Babylon,  at  the  Quir- 
inal ;  the  Lion  of  Lucerne  ;  the  many  statues,  groups,  and 
bas-reliefs  in  the  Frue  Kirke  ;  more  than  thirty  sepulchral 
and  commemorative  monuments  in  various  cities  and  coun- 
tries ;  sixteen  bas-reliefs  which  illustrate  the  story  of  Cupid 
and  Psyche  ;  twenty  bas-reliefs  of  Genii  ;  twenty-two  fig- 
ures from  antique  fables,  and  many  portrait  busts  and 
statues,  and  various  other  subjects. 

Thorwaldsen  was  a  very  remarkable  man.      No  circum- 


SCHADOW. 


269 


stance  of  his  youth  indicated  his  success,  and  a  certain  in- 
dolence which  he  had  would  have  seemed  to  forbid  it  ;  but 
the  power  was  within  him,  and  was  of  that  genuine  quahty 
which  will  declare  itself  ;  and  a  man  who  has  it  becomes 
great  without  intending  to  be  so,  and  almost  without  be- 
lieving  that  he  is  remarkable  beyond    others.     The    true 
antique  spirit  seems  to  have  been   revived  in  him.     His 
characteristics  as  a  sculptor  are  severe  simplicity,  perfect 
beauty  in  form,  distinctness,  and  repose.     Thiele  says  of 
him  :  "  He  has  challenged  and  has  received  the  decision  of 
the  world's  Supreme  Court,  that  his  name  shall  stand  on 
the  rolls  of  immortality.     And  if  his  life  might  be  embodied 
in  a  single  emblem,  perhaps  it  should  be  that  of  a  young 
lion,  with   an   eye   that   glows  and   flashes  fire,  while  he  is 
bound  with  ivy  and  led  by  the  hand  of  the  three  graces." 

The  sculpture  of  Germany  in  the  last  part  of  the  eigh- 
teenth and  the  early  years  of  the  piesent  century  was  very 
interesting.     The  architect   Schinkel  was  a  great  lover  of 
antique  art,  and  he  had  much  influence  over  all  arts,  as  well 
as  in  his  special  department.     Thorwaldsen  himself  so  ad- 
mired  the  sculptor  John  Rudolph  Schadow  (i 786-1 822) 
that  when  the  King  of  Prussia  gave  him  a  commission  for  a 
statue  he  replied  :   "  Sire,  there  is  at  this  moment  in  Rome 
one  of  your  faithful  subjects  who  is  more  capable  than  I  of 
performing  to  your  satisfaction   the   task  with  which  you 
deign  to  honor  me  ;  permit  me  to  solicit  for  him  your  royal 
favor  "     The  commission  was  given  to  Schadow,  and  he 
made   his   charming   work.    The  Spinner.     John   Rudolph 
was  the  son  of  JOHN  GOTTFRIED  Schadow  (1764-1850), 
who  was  court  sculptor,  and  long  survived  his  gifted  son. 
The  chief  works  of  the  father  were  the  statues  of  Count 
von  der  Mark,  at  Berlin  ;  that  of  Frederick  the  Great,  at 
Stettin  ;  Luther's  monument  in  the  market-place  at  Wit- 
tenberg, and  Bliicher's  statue  at  Rostock. 

John  Rudolph  Schadow  studied  under  both  Canova  and 


270 


SCULPTURE. 


Thorwaldsen,  and  was  a  very  gifted  artist.  He  was 
engaged  upon  a  group  of  Achilles  protecting  the  body  of 
Penthesilea  at  the  time  of  his  death  ;  it  was  finished  by 
Wolff. 

Christian  Frederic  Tieck  (1776-185  i)  was  an  emi- 
nent sculptor  of  his  time,  and  decorated  with  sculpture 
some  of  the  fine  edifices  erected  at  Berlin  by  Schinkel.  He 
was  very  active  in  establishing  a  gallery  of  models  from  the 
antique  at  Berlin,  and  was  a  Director  of  the  Sculptures  in 
the  Museum  as  w^ell  as  a  member  of  the  Academy.  His 
most  successful  original  works  were  portrait  busts,  and  he 
had  many  notable  people  among  his  sitters.  Among  them 
were  the  Emperor  of  Germany,  the  King  of  Bavaria,  Schell- 
ing,  Goethe,  Lessing,  and  many  others. 

Christian  Rauch  (1777-1857).  This  eminent  sculptor 
was  born  at  Waldeck,  and  followed  the  manner  of  Schadow, 


Fig.   121. — Statue  ok  ^ueen  Louise.     By  J^auch. 


which  he  carried  to  its  perfection.  His  statue  of  Queen  Louise 
(Fig.  121)  is  one  of  the  finest  works  of  modern  sculpture,  and 
his  statues  of  the  Generals  Scharnhorst  and  l^iilow,  in  Ber- 


RIETSCHEL — SCHWANTHALER.  2^1 

lin,  are  very  fine  ;  the  reliefs  upon  the  pedestals  are  of 
classic  beauty.  But  his  masterpiece  is  the  grand  Friedrichs 
monument.  Rauch  executed  many  excellent  busts  ;  he 
made  good  portraits,  and  yet  he  elevated  the  character  of 
his  subjects  to  the  greatest  nobleness  of  which  they  were 
capable.  As  a  rule  Rauch  avoided  religious  subjects,  but 
late  in  life  he  modelled  the  group  of  Moses  supported  in 
prayer  by  Aaron  and  Hur. 

Among  his  important  works  are  the  statue  of  Bliicher, 
at  Breslau  ;  that  of  August  Hermann  Franke,  at  Halle  ; 
Diirer,  at  Nuremberg  ;  monument  to  Maximilian  I.,  at 
Munich  ;  and  six  marble  Victories  for  the  Walhalla.  PI  is 
works  are  numerous,  and  in  them  we  feel  that  this  artist 
had  not  a  great  imaginative  power  ;  he  rarely  conceived 
imaginary  subjects,  but  he  took  some  fact  or  personality  as 
his  motive,  and  elevated  it  to  the  highest  point  to  which  it 
could  be  brought,  and  under  his  masterly  style  of  execution 
produced  splendid  results. 

Ernst  Rietschel  (i 804-1 860)  was  a  gifted  pupil  of 
Rauch.  After  spending  some  time  in  Rome  he  settled  in 
Dresden,  and  executed  the  statue  of  Friederich  August  of 
Saxony,  for  the  Zwingerhof,  when  but  twenty-seven  years 
old.  His  chief  excellence  was  in  portrait  statues,  and  those 
of  Lessing  and  Luther  are  remarkable  for  their  powerful 
expression  of  the  intellectual  and  moral  force  of  those  men. 
His  religious  subjects  were  full  of  deep  feeling,  and  his 
lighter  works  have  a  charming  grace  about  them. 

LUDWIG  ScHWANTHALER  (1802-1848)  studied  much  in 
Rome,  and  was  as  devoted  to  the  antique  as  was  Thorwald- 
sen.  He  executed  many  works  in  Munich,  the  principal 
ones  being  the  interior  decoration  of  the  Glyptothek  ;  also 
that  of  the  Konigsbau  and  two  groups  for  the  Walhalla. 
A  prominent  work  by  this  master  is  the  bronze  statue  of 
Bavaria,  which  is  fifty-four  feet  high  and  stands  in  front  of 
the  Ruhmeshalle.      He  also  made  twelve  gilt-bronze  statues 


272  SCULPTURE. 

of  Bavarian  sovereigns.  Schwanthaler  had  remarkable 
powers  of  invention  and  a  fruitful  imagination  ;  in  these 
points  he  ranks  with  the  first  of  modern  sculptors  ;  but  his 
works  rarely  rise  above  what  we  call  decorative  art,  and  in 
spite  of  his  excellent  gifts  he  lacked  the  power  to  arouse 
any  enthusiasm  for  his  statues. 

There  are  many  other  names  that  might  be  mentioned 
in  connection  with  modern  sculpture  in  Germany.  No- 
where have  the  monuments  and  portrait  statues  and  busts 
reached  a  higher  excellence  than  in  what  we  may  call,  in 
general  terms,  the  Berlin  school.  Profound  attention  has 
been  given  to  the  proper  reproduction  of  the  individual 
characters  of  its  subjects,  while  the  art  has  not  been  al- 
lowed to  sink  into  caricature  or  commonplaceness.  No- 
where does  the  traveller  better  appreciate  the  art  of  our  own 
day  than  in  the  sculpture  of  Germany. 

But  there  are  exceptions  to  this  rule  ;  some  such  artists 
as  Theodore  Kaliue  and  Ludwig  Wichmaxn  are  want- 
ing in  the  serious  qualities  of  Schadow,  Ranch,  and  their 
followers,  and  sometimes  fall  into  a  coarse  realism  ;  but  in 
spite  of  this,  the  revival  of  love  for  the  antique,  which  began 
with  Canova  and  his  time,  has  borne  rich  fruit  in  the  works 
of  modern  German  sculptors. 

In  France  the  spirit  of  modern  sculpture  has  been 
largely  that  of  the  severe  classic  style,  and  it  has  shown 
many  of  the  same  qualities  that  we  have  seen  in  modern 
German  sculpture  ;  but  the  different  characteristics  of  the 
two  nations  have  had  their  influence  here  as  in  everything 
else.  In  France  the  artist  has  aimed  at  a  fine  effect — flow- 
ing outline  and  dazzling  representations  of  dramatic  motives 
— far  more  than  the  northern  sculptors  have  done.  There  is 
less  thought  and  depth  of  feeling,  more  outward  attraction 
and  striking  effect.  The  classic  taste  which  asserted  itself 
in  the  time  of  Canova  was  adopted  in  France,  but  in  a 
French  manner  ;   and  one  of  the  earliest  artists  who  showed 


IN   FRANXE. 


273 


Its  effects  was  pRANgois  Joseph  Bosio  (i 769-1 845;,  who 
was  much  honored.  He  was  made  a  member  of  the  Insti- 
tute of  France  and  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  BerHn  :  he 
was  chief  sculptor  to  the   King  of   France,  and  executed 


Fig.  122. — Nymph.     By  Bosio. 


many  public  works.  He  made  many  portrait  busts  of  the 
royal  family  and  other  prominent  persons,  but  his  chief 
works  were  the  reliefs  on  the  column  of  the  Place  Vendome, 
the   Chariot   on    the   arch   of   the   Place  du   Carrousel,  the 


274  SCULPTURE. 

monument  to  the  Countess  Demidoff,  and  statues  of 
mythological  heroes  and  heroines.  For  the  Chapelle  Expi- 
atoire,  Bosio  executed  a  group  representing  Louis  XVII. 
receiving  comfort  from  an  angel  ;  the  design  is  not  as  good 
as  in  some  of  his  classic  works,  but  the  conception  is  pure 
and  noble. 

James  Pradier  (i 790-1 832),  though  born  in  Geneva, 
was  essentially  a  French  sculptor,  and  excelled  the  artists 
of  his  day  in  his  representations  of  feminine  beauty.  His 
masterpiece  is  a  fountain  at  Nimes,  in  which  the  figures 
are  fine  and  the  drapery  noble  and  distinct  in  treatment. 
The  serious  and  comic  Muses  of  the  Fountain  Moliere  are 
excellent  works.  He  made  several  separate  statues  which 
are  well  known  ;  his  Psyche  has  a  butterfly  poised  on  the 
upper  part  of  the  arm  ;  Atalanta  is  fastening  her  sandals  ; 
Sappho  is  in  despair.  His  Niobe  group  showed  his  power 
to  represent  bold  action,  and  his  Prometheus  chained,, 
erected  in  the  garden  of  the  Tuileries,  is  grand  and  spirited. 

We  could  name  a  great  number  of  French  sculptors  be- 
longing to  this  period  whose  works  are  seen  in  many  public 
places  which  they  adorn,  but  whose  genius  was  not  suffi- 
cient to  place  them  in  the  first  ranks  of  the  world's  artists, 
or  make  the  accounts  of  them  anything  more  than  a  list  of 
works  which  has  little  meaning,  except  when  one  stands  be- 
fore them.  Perhaps  no  one  man  had  so  wide  an  influence 
upon  this  art  as  had  PlERRE  Jean  David  (i 793-1 856),  who 
is  called  David  of  Angers,  which  was  his  birthplace,  in 
order  to  distinguish  him  from  Jacques  Louis  David,  the 
great  painter,  who  was  like  a  father  to  this  sculptor,  though 
in  no  way  connected  with  him  by  ties  of  kindred,  as  far  as 
we  know.  Ikit  when  the  sculptor  went  to  Paris,  a  very 
poor  boy,  David  the  painter,  whose  attention  was  called  to- 
him  in  some  way,  was  his  friend,  and  gave  him  lessons  in 
drawing  and  aided  him  in  other  ways.  In  181 1  David  of 
Angers  obtained   the  prize   which    enabled    him    to  go  to 


IN   FRANCE.  275 

Rome,  and  after  his  return  to  Paris  he  was  constantly  em- 
ployed. The  amount  of  his  work  was  enormous  ;  many  of 
his  statues  were  colossal,  and  he  executed  a  great  number 
of  busts  and  more  than  ninety  medallions. 

He  made  the  statue  of  Mme.  de  Stael  ;  one  of  Talma 
for  the  Theatre  Frangais  ;  the  colossal  statue  of  King  Rene 
at  Aix  ;  monument  to  Fenelon  at  Cambray  ;  the  statue  of 
the  great  Conde  at  Versailles  ;  the  Gutenberg  memorial  at 
Strasburg,  which  is  one  of  his  most  successful  works,  and  a 
large  number  of  other  sculptures. 

His  chief  characteristic  is  realism,  and  he  carried  this  so 
far  that  it  frequently  became  coarseness.  David  designed 
the  relief  for  the  pediment  of  the  Pantheon.  The  inscrip- 
tion on  the  building  declares  that  it  is  dedicated  by  a  grate- 
ful country  to  its  great  men,  and  the  sculptor  seems  to  have 
had  this  in  mind,  for  he  represented  in  his  group  a  figure  of 
France  surrounded  by  those  who  had  been  great  in  its 
times  of  war  and  days  of  peace.  It  is  too  realistic  to  be 
pleasing,  and  is  far  less  creditable  to  the  sculptor  than  are 
many  of  his  less  prominent  works. 

If  little  can  be  said  of  the  modern  French  sculpture  prior 
to  our  immediate  time,  there  is  still  less  to  be  told  of  that 
of  England.  There  are  many  public  monuments  there,  but 
they  do  not  show  forth  any  high  artistic  genius  or  rise 
above  the  commonplace  except  in  very  rare  instances. 
There  is  but  one  English  sculptor  of  whom  I  shall  speak. 
John  Gibson  (i 791 -1866)  was  born  near  Conway,  in  Wales. 
When  he  was  nine  years  old  his  parents  went  to  Liverpool 
with  the  intention  of  sailing  for  America  ;  but  they  gave  up 
the  idea,  and  the  boy  was  sent  to  school  in  Liverpool.  Be- 
fore this  he  had  been  in  the  habit  of  drawing  and  of  making 
sketches  of  anything  that  he  saw  and  was  pleased  with  ;  he 
now  studied  the  prints  in  the  shop  windows,  and  made  pic- 
tures, which  he  sold  to  his  fellow-pupils.  He  attracted  the 
attention  of   a  print-seller,   who  was  so  interested  in  him 


2/6  SCULPTURE. 

that  he  allowed  him  to  draw  from  studies  and  casts  from 
the  antique  which  he  had.  When  fourteen  years  old  the 
boy  was  apprenticed  to  a  cabinet-maker,  but  after  a  year  he 
persuaded  his  employer  to  allow  him  to  leave  his  shop, 
and  was  then  apprenticed  to  a  wood-carver.  He  did  not 
stop  at  this,  however,  for  when  he  became  acquainted  with 
the  Messrs.  Francis,  who  had  a  marble-yard,  he  persuaded 
his  second  master  to  release  him,  and  was  apprenticed  for 
the  third  time,  and  in  this  case  to  the  occupation  which  he 
had  determined  should  be  that  of  his  life. 

He  was  now  very  happy,  and  his  improvement  in  draw- 
ing, modelling,  and  working  in  marble  was  very  rapid. 
After  a  few  months  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  William 
Roscoe,  who  became  his  friend  and  patron.  He  remained 
in  Liverpool  until  he  was  twenty-seven  years  old  ;  he  had 
improved  every  advantage  within  his  reach,  but  he  was  very 
desirous  of  travelling.  In  1817,  armed  with  a  few  letters 
of  introduction,  he  went  to  London,  where  he  obtained 
several  orders,  and  in  October  of  that  year  went  to  Rome. 

He  had  a  letter  to  Canova,  who  took  him  under  his 
care  and  gave  him  admission  to  the  classes  in  the  Academy, 
in  which  he  could  draw^  from  living  models.  In  18 19  he 
received  his  first  important  commission  ;  it  was  from  the 
Duke  of  Devonshire  for  a  group  of  Mars  and  Cupid.  From 
this  time  he  advanced  steadily  in  his  profession,  and  was 
always  busy.  He  lived  twenty-seven  years  in  Rome,  and 
passed  his  summers  in  Innsbruck. 

In  1844  he  went  to  Liverpool  to  oversee  the  erection  of 
his  statue  of  Mr.  Huskisson  ;  he  was  received  with  enthusi- 
asm, and  when  he  went  to  Glasgow  to  superintend  the 
placing  of  his  statue  of  Mr.  Finlay  in  the  Merchants'  Hall 
his  reception  was  even  more  flattering,  as  it  was  given  him 
simply  as  an  artist,  and  not  connected  with  any  former  as- 
sociations, as  in  Liverpool.  During  this  visit  to  England 
Gibson   was  summoned   to   Windsor  to   make   a  statue  of 


JOHN   GIBSON.  2JJ 

Queen  Victoria,  which  he  completed  after  his  return  to 
Rome.  The  queen  was  represented  in  a  classical  costume, 
and  the  diadem,  sandals,  and  borders  of  the  drapery  were 
colored.  This  was  very  much  criticised  and  much  was 
written  and  said  about  it  ;  Gibson  took  little  notice  of  all 
this,  and  simply  answered  it  by  saying,  "  Whatever  the 
Greeks  did  was  right." 

In  185 1  Gibson  sustained  a  great  loss  in  the  death  of  his 
brother  Ben,  who  had  lived  with  him  in  Rome  for  fourteen 
years.  Five  years  later,  when  in  perfect  health,  the 
sculptor  was  attacked  by  paralysis,  and  lived  but  a  short 
time.  He  was  buried  in  the  English  cemetery  at  Rome, 
and  Lord  Lytton  wrote  the  inscription  upon  his  monument. 
It  says  :  "  His  native  genius  strengthened  by  careful  study, 
he  infused  the  spirit  of  Grecian  art  into  masterpieces  all  his 
own.  His  character  as  a  man  was  in  unison  with  his  attri- 
butes as  an  artist — beautiful  in  its  simplicity  and  truthful- 
ness, noble  in  its  dignity  and  elevation."  A  monument  was 
also  raised  to  Gibson  in  the  church  at  Conway. 

The  master  left  the  models  of  all  his  works  and  the 
iarger  part  of  his  fortune  to  the  Royal  Academy  in  London. 
Among  his  works  are  Mars  and  Cupid,  at  Chatsworth  ; 
Psyche  borne  by  Zephyrs,  in  the  Palazzo  Torlonia,  at 
Rome,  and  a  replica  at  St.  Petersburg  ;  Hylas  surprised  by 
Nymphs,  in  the  National  Gallery,  London  ;  Sleeping  Shep- 
herd Boy,  in  the  Lenox  collection  in  New  York  ;  Cupid 
disguised  as  a  Shepherd,  which  he  often  repeated  ;  portraits 
of  Queen  Victoria,  at  Buckingham  Palace  and  Osborne  ; 
Sir  Robert  Peel,  in  Westminster  Abbey  ;  George  Stephen- 
son, in  St.  George's  Hall,  Liverpool  ;  eighteen  portrait 
busts  ;  sixteen  bas-reliefs  of  ideal  subjects  and  sixteen 
others  for  monuments  to  the  dead.  A  large  part  of  these 
are  in  the  chapel  of  the  Liverpool  Cemetery.  He  modelled 
a  bas-relief  of  Christ  blessing  little  children. 

Gibson   found  his  entire  happiness  in  his  art.      In  his 


2/8  SCULPTURE. 

own  words,  he  worked  on  "happily  and  with  ever  new 
pleasure,  avoiding  evil  and  with  a  calm  soul,  making  images, 
not  for  worship,  but  for  the  love  of  the  beautiful.  The 
beautiful  elevates  us  above  the  crowd  in  this  world  ;  the 
ideal,  higher — yes,  higher  still,  to  celestial  beauty,  the  foun- 
tain of  all.  Socrates  said  that  outward  beauty  was  the  sign 
of  the  inward  ;  in  the  life  of  a  man»  as  in  an  image,  every 
part  should  be  beautiful." 

He  was  never  elated  by  praise  ;  he  was  glad  of  tributes 
which  proved  that  he  was  respected,  but  he  received  all 
honors  with  a  simplicity  of  self-respect  which  spoke  the  sin- 
cere nobility  of  his  nature. 

There  are  many  amusing  anecdotes  told  of  his  absent- 
mindedness  about  everything  not  connected  with  his  art. 
Miss  Harriet  Hosmer  was  his  only  pupil,  and  she  said  of 
him  :  "  He  is  a  god  in  his  studio,  but  God  help  him  when 
he  is  out  of  it."  He  never  could  master  the  ins  and  outs 
of  railroad  travelling,  and  even  when  put  in  the  right  train 
at  the  right  time  he  would  be  sure  to  get  out  at  the  wrong 
place  at  the  wrong  time. 

On  one  of  his  journeys,  when  he  supposed  he  was  at  the 
right  place,  he  got  out  and  asked  the  porter  to  show  him 
the  way  to  the  cathedral.  In  his  own  account  he  said  : 
*'  But  the  scoundrel  would  have  it  there  was  no  cathedral 
in  the  place,  and  at  last  had  the  impudence  to  ask  me  if  I 
knew  where  I  was.  Then  I  discovered  that  instead  of  being 
in  Chichester,  where  I  had  a  particular  appointment  with 
the  dean  and  chapter,  I  was  safe  in  Portsmouth,  where 
there  was  no  cathedral  at  all." 

The  time  has  not  come  for  any  comprehensive  estimate 
of  the  sculpture  of  our  own  country.  So  many  of  our  art- 
ists are  still  living  that  it  would  be  unjust  to  speak  of  them 
in  connection  with  those  whose  work  is  complete  and  whose 
rank  is  fixed  as  a  matter  of  history.  We  have  no  right  to 
say  of  one  who  is  still  working  that  he  has  reached  his  full 


RESUME.  279 

height,  and  even  after  death  a  certain  period  must  elapse 
before  the  true  merit  of  an  artist  can  be  established  and  his 
name  written  in  its  just  place  upon  the  roll  of  fame.  So, 
in  leaving  this  subject,  we  will  turn  again  to  the  land  of 
which  we  first  spoke  in  considering  modern  sculpture.  In 
Italy  this  art  has  not  risen  above  the  elevation  to  which 
Canova  and  Thorwaldsen  brought  it  ;  for  though  the  last 
was  a  Dane,  his  work  may  truly  be  said  to  belong  to  the 
Roman  school.  We  must  regard  Italy  as  the  land  of  art  in 
a  peculiar  sense,  but  it  is  easy  to  understand  that  under  the 
political  misfortunes  which  she  has  suffered  an  advance  in 
artistic  life  could  not  be  made.  Now,  when  a  new  spirit  is 
active  there,  and  a  freer  thought  prevails  in  other  direc- 
tions, may  we  not  believe  that  in  the  arts  there  will  be  a 
revival  of  the  best  inspiration  that  has  ever  come  to  that 
home  of  grace  and  beauty? 

As  we  glance  over  the  entire  civihzed  world  of  to-day 
we  find  an  immense  activity  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  the 
fine  arts.  Schools  and  academies  are  multiplied  every- 
where, and  the  interest  in  works  of  art  .is  universal.  Many 
a  private  gentleman  is  to-day  as  liberal  a  patron  of  artists  as 
were  the  princes  and  nobles  of  the  past.  It  is  as  if  there 
were  a  vast  crucible  in  which  artists  of  all  nations  are  being 
tested,  and  from  this  testing  of  their  metal  it  would  seem 
that  much  pure  gold  must  come  forth. 

As  we  review  the  history  of  sculpture  from  its  earliest 
days  to  the  present,  we  are  compelled  to  linger  lovingly 
with  the  Greek  or  classic  art.  The  period  in  which  it  existed 
was  a  blessed  period  for  the  sculptor.  We  all  know  that 
the  best  foundation  for  the  excellence  of  art  is  the  study 
and  reproduction  of  nature,  and  in  the  times  of  the  Greeks 
there  was  no  reason  why  the  human  form,  the  most  beauti- 
ful object  in  nature,  should  not  be  used  by  the  sculptor  for 
the  decoration  of  the  temple,  for  the  statues  of  the  public 
square  or  theatre,  or  for  any  position  in  which  sculpture 


2oO  SCULPTURE. 

could  be  used  at  all.  The  customs  of  modern  life  are 
opposed  to  this  free  exhibition  of  nude  forms,  and  the  diffi- 
culties that  are  thrown  in  the  way  of  the  sculptor  by  this 
one  fact  are  almost  more  than  we  can  realize  ;  and  the  task 
of  draping  a  figure  and  yet  showing  its  shape  and  indicating 
its  proper  proportions  and  action  is  one  before  which  even 
a  Greek  sculptor  would  have  reason  to  doubt  himself. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  a  sculptor  does  succeed  in 
producing  a  draped  figure  which  satisfies  artistic  taste,  he 
has  achieved  much,  and  merits  the  highest  praise.  A  dra- 
pery which  has  gracefully  composed  masses  and  flowing 
lines  adds  great  dignity  to  the  figure  of  a  patriarch  or  a 
prophet,  and  there  are  numerous  subjects,  religious  and 
monumental,  in  which  a  full,  graceful  drapery  is  requisite  ; 
but  when,  as  is  often  the  case,  the  sculptor  is  required  to 
reproduce  the  actual  costume  of  the  day,  what  can  we  look 
for  ?  The  truth  is,  it  has  no  grace  in  itself  ;  what,  then, 
must  it  be  when  put  into  the  fixedness  of  bronze  or  marble  ? 
Yet  where  is  the  remedy  for  this  ?  We  do  not  wish  to  see 
the  men  whom  we  have  known  and  who  have  moved  among 
us  in  the  dress  of  other  men  put  into  an  antique  disguise 
by  the  sculptor  ;  the  incongruity  of  this  is  too  apparent. 
Much  has  been  written  and  said  upon  these  points,  and  no 
solution  of  the  difficulty  has  been  found  ;  but  it  is  only 
just  that  when  we  judge  of  the  statues  made  under  such 
difficulties,  we  should  remember  them  and  give  the  artist 
the  benefit  of  the  consideration  of  all  the  hindrances  that 
exist  for  him. 

Westmacott,  in  his  "  Handbook  of  Sculpture,"  gives  as 
his  **  Conclusion"  an  account  of  the  mechanical  methods  of 
the  sculptor,  and  I  believe  that  I  can  add  nothing  here 
which  will  be  of  greater  use  to  my  readers  than  a  quotation 
from  that  author. 

"  The  artist,  having  invented  or  conceived  his  subject, 
usually  begins  by  making  a  small  sketch  of  it  in  some  soft 


MECHANICAL   PROCESSES   OF    SCULPTURE.  28 1 

and  obedient  substance,  as  clay  or  wax.  He  can  change  or 
alter  this  at  his  pleasure  till  he  is  satisfied  with  the  lines 
and  masses  of  the  composition,  and  the  proportions  it  will 
command  of  light  and  shadow.  He  then  proceeds  to  copy 
this  small  but  useful  sketch,  as  his  guide,  in  its  general 
arrangement,  for  his  full-sized  model.  Before  commencing 
the  larger  model  it  is  necessary  to  form  a  sort  of  skeleton  or 
framework  of  iron  and  wood,  with  joints  made  of  wire,  to 
support  the  great  mass  of  clay  in  which  the  figure  or  group 
is  now  to  be  executed.  This  iron  frame  is  firmly  fixed 
upon  a  turning  bench,  or  banker,  so  that  the  model  may  be 
constantly  moved  without  difficulty,  so  as  to  be  seen  in 
different  lights  and  in  various  points  of  view.  As  the  clay 
is  likely  to  shrink  as  it  gets  dry,  it  is  necessary  occasionally 
to  wet  it.  This  is  done  by  sprinkling  water  over  it  with  a 
brush,  or  from  a  large  syringe,  and  by  laying  damp  cloths 
upon  it.  This  is  the  ordinary  process  for  making  a  model 
in  the  '  round.' 

"  In  modelling  in  rilievo  of  either  kind,  alto  or  basso,  a 
plane  or  ground  is  prepared  upon  which  the  design  is,  or 
should  be,  carefully  drawn.  This  may  be  made  of  clay 
floated  or  laid  upon  a  board,  or  the  ground  may  be  of  slate, 
or  even  of  wood,  though  the  latter  is  objectionable,  in  large 
works  especially,  from  its  liability  to  shrink  and  to  be 
warped  by  the  action  of  damp  or  moisture.  The  clay  is 
then  laid  in  small  quantities  upon  this  ground,  the  outline 
being  bounded  by  the  drawing,  which  should  be  carefully 
preserved  ;  and  the  bulk  or  projection  of  the  figures  is  reg- 
ulated by  the  degree  of  relief  the  sculptor  desires  to  give  to 
his  design. 

"If  the  final  work  is  to  be  baked  in  clay  {tcrra-cotta) 
there  must  be  no  iron  or  wooden  nucleus,  as  it  would  inter- 
fere with  the  model  drying  regularly  and  uniformly,  and 
probably  cause  it  to  crack  in  shrinking.  The  model  is 
therefore  prepared  for  drying  without  such  support.     When 


282  SCULPTURE. 

perfectly  free  from  moisture  the  model  is  placed  in  an  oven 
and  baked  slowly,  by  which  it  acquires  great  hardness  and 
the  peculiar  brownish-red  color  seen  in  these  works.  This 
art  has  been  brought  to  great  perfection  in  England  in 
modern  days. 

"  If  the  final  work  is  to  be  in  marble,  or  bronze,  or  only 
in  plaster,  the  next  process  after  finishing  the  model  is  to 
mould  it,  in  preparation  for  its  being  reproduced  in  a  mate- 
rial that  will  bear  moving  about  without  risk  of  injury  to 
the  design.  This  is  done  by  covering  it  with  a  mixture 
of  plaster  of  Paris  with  water,  which  quickly  sets  or  be- 
comes consistent,  forming  a  hard  and  thick  coating  over  the 
whole.  The  clay  is  then  carefully  picked  out,  and  an  exact 
matrix,  or  form,  remains.  This  is  washed  clean,  and  the 
interior  is  then  brushed  over  with  any  greasy  substance, 
usually  a  composition  of  soap  and  oil,  to  prevent  the  plaster 
with  which  it  is  next  to  be  filled  adhering  too  firmly  to  it. 
The  fresh  plaster  is  mixed  to  about  the  consistency  of 
cream  and  then  poured  into  the  mould,  which  is  gently 
moved  about  till  the  inner  surface  is  entirely  filled  or  cov- 
ered, so  that  all  parts  may  be  reached.  The  thickness  or 
substance  of  the  coating  depends  upon  the  size  of  the  work 
and  the  degree  of  strength  required. 

"  When  the  newly  introduced  plaster  is  set  the  mould  is 
carefully  knocked  away  with  chisels,  and  a  true  cast  appears 
beneath,  giving  an  entire  fac-simile  of  the  original  model. 
Some  skill  is  required  in  making  moulds,  in  order  to  pro- 
vide for  projecting  parts  and  under-cuttings  ;  practice  alone 
can  teach  the  artist  how  to  deal  with  those  difficulties  when 
they  occur.  The  above  general  instructions  sufificiently 
explain  the  ordinary  processes  of  moulding  and  casting  in 
plaster. 

"  In  metal-casting  or  founding  great  attention  must  be 
paid  to  the  strengthening  of  the  parts  to  bear  the  weight  of 
the  metal  ;  but  the  principle  described  in  plaster-moulding 


MECHANICAL   PROCESSES   OF   SCULPTURE.  283 

applies  also  to  the  preparation  for  metal-casting.  The  mix- 
ture of  metals  to  form  bronze,  the  proper  heating  of  the  fur- 
nace, burning  and  uniting  parts,  chasing  and  other  processes 
of  founding  cannot  be  fully  described  in  this  place.  They 
belong  to  a  distinct  practice,  and  to  be  well  understood  must 
be  studied  in  the  foundry. 

**  If  the  model — now  reproduced  in  plaster — is  to  be 
copied  in  marble  or  stone,  the  first  step  is  to  procure  a 
block  of  the  required  size.  Two  stones,  called  scale-stones, 
are  then  prepared,  upon  one  of  which  the  model  or  plaster 
cast  is  placed,  and  upon  the  other  the  rough  block  of  mar- 
ble. The  fronts  of  these  stones  have  figured  marks  or 
'  scales,'  to  use  the  technical  term,  exactly  corresponding. 
An  instrument  capable  of  being  easily  moved,  and  which  is 
fitted  up  with  socket-joints  and  movable  arms,  is  then  ap- 
plied to  the  scale-stone  of  the  model,  and  a  projecting  point 
or  *  needle  '  is  made  to  touch  a  particular  part  of  the  model 
itself.  This  is  carefully  removed  to  the  scale-stone  of  the 
rough  block,  and  the  marble  is  cut  away  till  the  '  needle  ' 
reaches  so  far  into  the  block  as  to  correspond  with  the 
'  point  '  taken  on  the  model.  A  pencil-mark  is  then  made 
to  show  that  the  point  is  found  and  registered.  This  proc- 
ess is  repeated  all  over  the  model  and  block,  alternately, 
till  a  rough  copy  or  shape  of  the  model  is  entirely  made. 
These  '  pointing  '  machines  are  not  always  precisely  alike  in 
their  forms,  but  the  principle  upon  which  they  act  is  ex- 
actly similar  in  all.  The  statue  being  thus  rudely  shaped 
out,  the  block  is  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  superior  work- 
man, called  a  *  carver,'  who,  having  the  plastic  model  near 
at  hand  to  refer  to,  copies  the  more  minute  portions  of  the 
work  by  means  of  chisels,  rasps,  and  files,  the  pencil-marks 
made  by  the  '  pointer  '  showing  him  the  precise  situation  of 
the  parts  and  the  limit  beyond  which  he  is  not  to  penetrate 
into  the  marble.  When  the  carver  has  carried  the  work  as 
far  as  the  sculptor  desires,  he  proceeds  himself  to  give  it 


284  SCULPTURE. 

the  finishing  touches,  improving  the  details  of  form  and 
expression,  managing  the  different  effects  produced  by  two 
different  materials — one,  the  plastic  model,  being  opaque  ; 
the  other,  the  marble,  being  considerably  diaphanous  ; 
giving  the  proper  varieties  of  texture  in  the  flesh,  hair,  and 
drapery,  and,  more  especially,  harmonizing  the  whole. 

"  The  rich  quality  of  surface  that  appears  more  or  less 
in  works  of  marble  is  produced  by  rubbing  with  fine  sand  or 
pumice-stone  and  other  substances,  and  the  ancients  appear 
to  have  completed  this  part  of  their  work  by  a  process 
which  is  called  *  circu7?iHtio,'  and  may  mean  not  only  rub- 
bing or  polishing,  but  applying  some  composition,  such  as 
hot  wax,  to  give  a  soft,  glowing  color  to  the  surface. 
Many  of  the  ancient  statues  certainly  exhibit  the  appear- 
ance of  some  foreign  substance  having  slightly  penetrated 
the  surface  of  the  work  to  about  one  eighth  of  an  inch,  and 
its  color  is  of  a  warmer  tint  than  the  marble  below  it  ;  a 
process,  be  it  observed,  quite  distinct  from  and  not  to  be 
confounded  with  polychromy,  or  what  is  usually  understood 
by  painting  sculpture  with  various  tints,  in  imitation  of  the 
natural  color  of  the  complexion,  hair,  and  eyes.  Its  object, 
probably,  with  the  ancients  as  with  modern  sculptors,  has 
been  simply  to  get  rid  of  the  glare  and  freshness  of  appear- 
ance that  is  sometimes  objected  to  in  a  recently  finished 
work,  by  giving  a  general  warmth  to  the  color  of  the 
marble." 


INDEX. 


"  A  EDUCTION  of  Briseis"  (Thor- 

waldsen),  257 

Abildgaard,  254 

"  Abraham  and  Isaac,"   139 

"  Abundance  "  (della  Porta),  212 

Academy  of  Fine  Arts,  Florence, 
Michael  Angelo's  David  in,  201 

Achilles,  story  of,  26  ;  and  Priam 
(Thorwaldsen),  299  ;  and  Pen- 
thesilea  (Schadow),   270 

Acropolis,  78 

Action  in  Egyptian  sculpture,  3 

"  Actaeon  and  his  Dogs,"  24 

"  Adam  "  (Cano),  220 

"'Adam  and  Eve,"  reliefs  of,  138, 
139  ;  by  Rizzo,   154 

*'  Adonis  "  (Thorwaldsen),  25S 

"Adoring  Madonna,"  152 

iEgina,  marbles  of,  and  Thorwald- 
sen, 260 

yEmilius  Faulus,  84 

^' ^neas  and  Anchises  "  (Chaudet), 
248 

yEsculapius.      See  Asclepius 

JEtolians,  84 

Agamemnon,  go 

Agesander  and  the  Laocoon,  74 

Agnello,  Fra  Guglielmo  d',  130 

Agoracritus,  49,  51 

Agrippa  and  the  Apoxyomenos,  70 


Agrippina,  statue  of,  103 

Aix,  275 

Alaric  and  Minerva  Promachos,  35 

Albert,  Archduke,  and  Duquesnoy, 
226 

Alcamenes,  49 

Aldovrandi,  Gian  Francesco,  19S 

Alexander  the  Great ;  statues  of,  69, 
72  ;  decline  after,  72  ;  portrait 
statues  of,  100 ;  and  Diogenes, 
by  Puget,  229  ;  by  Dannecker, 
248  ;  by  Thorwaldsen,  259  ;  En- 
trance into  Babylon  of,  26S 

Alexander,  Emperor  of  Russia,  and 
Thorwaldsen,  262 

Alexander  VII.,  monument  of,  226 

Alexandros,  sculptor  of  Venus  of 
Milo,  87 

Alto-rilievo,   2S1 

Altoviti,  statue  of  (Cellini),  191 

Amadeo,  Giovanni  Antonio,  157 

Amboise  Monument,  177 

Ambraser  Gallery,  Vienna,  Cellini's 
salt-cellar  in,  190 

Amiens  Cathedral,  176 

Ancient  Italian  sculpture,  82 

Ancona,  156 

Andersen,  Hans,  and  Thorwaldsen, 
266 

Androsphinx,  6 


286 


INDEX. 


"  Angel  of  Baptism  "  (Thorwaldsen), 

262 
•'  Angel's  Salutation  "  (Stoss),   165 
Anguier,  Fran9ois,  228 
Anguier,  Michael,  22S 
Animals  in  Egyptian  sculpture,  5 
Anne  of  Austria,  and  Anguier,  228 
Anne  of  Brittany,  monument  of,  177 
"Annunciation"  (Donatello),  142 
Annunziata,  church  of,  212 
Antigonus,  father  of  Poliorcetes,  73 
Antium,  91 

Antonelli,  Cardinal,  100 
Antwerp,  town  hall  of,  231 
Aphrodite.      See  Venus 
Apollo  ;    Sosianus,    temple    of,    61  ; 

by  Leochares,  65  ;  the  Belvedere, 

gi,  theories  concerning,  92,  95  ; 

the  Steinhauser.  91  ;    the    Strog- 

anoff,  92  ;   by    Sansovino,    1S6  ; 

and  Daphne,    by   Bernini,    224 ; 

and  Daphne,   by  Canova,   239  ; 

by  Canova,    240 ;    by   P'laxman, 

251 
Apollodorus,  86 

ApoUonius,  of  the  Toro  Farnese,  76 
Apostles  (Thorwaldsen),  262 
"  Apoxyomenos  "  (Lysippus),  70 
Archaic  period,  22 
Archaistic  period,  27 
Arches  in  Rome,  97 
Architecture,   close  connection    with 

Egyptian  sculpture,  10 
"Archangel    Michael    and     Satan" 

(Flaxman),  251 
Areobrudus,  diptych  of,  109 
Arezzo,  132 
Argos,  school  of,  72 
"Ariadne"  (Dannecker),  24S 
Arrezzo,  Niccolo  of,  135 
Artemis,    archaistic    statue     of,    28, 

94,   95   (and  see  Diana) 
Aschaffenburg    Vischer's    works  in, 

175 


Asclepius,    by    Alcamenes,     50 ;    by 

Canova,  239 
Assos,  reliefs  from,  23 
Assyria,  10 
Assyrian  influence  on  Etruscan  art, 

82 

Atalanta,  by  Pradier,  274 

Athena  ;  Promachos  (Phidias),  34  ; 
birth  of,  38  ;  attributes  of,  39  ; 
representations  of,  40  ;  by  Phid- 
ias, 84  ;  of  the  Capitol,  94,  95, 
96  (and  see  Minerva  and  Pallas) 

Athenodorus  and  the  Laocoon,  74 

Athens,  statue  from,  at  Rome,  84 

Attalus  I.,  statues  of,  78 

Augsburg,  123,  164 

Augustio,  108 

Augustus,  Emperor  ;  and  archaistic 
period,  27  ;  and  Grecian  spoils, 
84  ;  statue  of,  102 

"DABYLONIANS,  17 

Bacchus  ;  and  the  Tyrrhenian 
robbers,  67  ;  tripod  of,  by  Lysi- 
crates,  67  ;  84  ;  by  Sansovino, 
185  ;  by  Michael  Angelo,  200 

Baldachin,  174 

Balier,  Heinrich  den,  123 

Bamberg,  123  ;  carvings  in,  167  ;  and 
Krafft,  168 

Bandinelli,  Baccio,  212  ;  and  Cellini, 
190 

Baptistery  of  Pisa,  128 

Baptistery  of  Florence,  137,  138  ; 
gates  of,  133 

Barberini,  Cardinal,  and  Bernini,  223 

"  Barberini  Faun,"  73 

Bargello,  museum  of  the,   139 

Baryatinska,  Princess,  260 

Basle,  Steinhiiuser  Apollo  in,  91 

Basilica   of   San   Petronio,  Bologna, 

137 
Bas-relief  ;   Egyptian,    2  ;    Assyrian, 

12  ;  the  first,  20 


INDEX. 


287 


Basso-rilievo,  281 

•'  Battle  of  Athenians  and  Amazons," 

78 
"  Battle  of  Marathon,"  78 
"  Battle  of  the  Gods  and  Giants,"  78 
Bavaria  ;    King   of,    270  ;  statue    of, 
271  ;  sovereigns  of,  Schwantha- 
ler's  statues  of,  272 
Beata  Villana,  151 
Beauharnais,  monument  to,  263 
"  Beautiful  Fountain,"    Nuremberg, 

123 
Beauty,  Greek  love  of,  18 
Begarelli,  Antonio,  193 
"  Berengaria,"  statue  of,  119 
Berlin  Museum,    works   of    Pythag- 
oras   in,    30;    Begarelli's    works 
in,  194 
Berlin  school,  272 
Bernardi,  Giuseppe,  237 
Berne,  cathedral  of,  170 
Bernini,  223 
Berruguete,  Alonso,  217 
Bertoldo  and  Michael  Angelo,  195 
Bethmann,  Herr,  248 
Beuch,  213 
Bienaime,     pupil     of    Thorwaldsen, 

261 
Bindesboll,  architect,   268 
"  Birth  of  St.  John  "  CDurer),  166 
Bliicher,   Schadow's  statue  of,   269  ; 

Rauch's  statue  of,  271 
Boboli  Gardens,  214 
Boethus  of  Chalcedon,  80 
Boileau,  bust  of,  229 
Bologna  ;   128  ;   works   of  Lombardo 
in,  192  ;  Michael  Angelo  in,  198 
Bologna,  Giovanni  da,  213 
Bon  family,  I35 
Bontemps,  Pierre,  178 
Bosio,  Frangois  Joseph,  273 
Bottigari,  de',  193 
Bourges,  Cathedral  of,  114,    178 
Bourgtherroulde,  Hotel,  178 


"  Boy  and  Dolphin"  (Verocchio),  149 

"  Boy  and  Goose,"  80 

Braccini,  Nicolo,   187 

Bramante  and  Michael  Angelo,  202 

Braye,  Cardinal  de,    monument    of, 

133 
Bregno,  Antonio  Giovanni,  154 

Breslau,  271 

Briseis,  by  Thorwaldsen,  257 
Bristol,  Lord,  and  Flaxman,  251 
British  Museum  ;  Harpy  monument 
in,    24 ;    Elgin    marbles    in,  37  ; 
statue  of  Pericles  in,  52  ;   statue 
of    Mausolus    in,   57  ;    Etruscan 
table-ware  in,  83  ;  Dlirer's  carv- 
ings in,  166 
Bronzes,  Etruscan,  82 
"  Brother  and  Sister,"  Niobe  group, 

64 
Bruges,  178 

Brugsch-Bey  concerning  Martisen,  i 
Brun,  Charles  le,  monument  of,  229 
Brun,  Ida,  Thorwaldsen's  statue  of, 

258 
Brunelleschi,  139,  140 
Bruni,  Lionardo,  statue  of,  151 
Brunswick  Museum,  166 
Buckingham   Palace,   and   Flaxman, 

251  ;  and  Gibson,  277 
Buonarroti,  194 
Buoni,  135 

Burgkapelle,  and  Veit  Stoss,  165 
Burgos,  Altars  of,  179 
"  Burial  of  Christ  "  (Krafft),  168 
Burns,  Flaxman's  statue  of,  251 
Bulow,  Rauch's  statue  of,  270 
Byzantium,  early  Christian  sculpture 
in,  108  ;  ivory  carving  in,  108 

CAIN  and  Abel."  139 
Calabria,  Duke  of,  153 
Calamis,  31 

Caligula,   and  the  Thespian    Cupid, 
61  ;  and  Grecian  spoils,  84 


288 


INDEX. 


Callimachus,  52 

Gallon  of  ^gina,  27 

Cambio,  Arnolfo  di,  133 

Cambray,  275 

Campanile  at  Florence,  146 

Campo  Sant©  of  Pisa,  131 

Cano,  Alonso,  219 

Canon  of  Polycleitus,  54 

Canova,  Antonio,  236  ;  and  Gibson, 
276 

Canova,  Pasino,  236 

Canterbury  Cathedral,  121. 

Capitol  at  Rome  ;  Helios  in,  69  ;  Mi- 
nerva in,  95 

Capitoline  Museum,  busts  by  Canova 
in,  246 

Capuchins  and  Thorwaldsen,  263 

Caracalla,  Baths  of;  and  "  Farnese 
Bull,"  76  ;  and  "  Farnesian  Her- 
cules," SS 

Caridad  of  Seville,  220 

Carlovingians,  statues  of,  119 

Carrousel,  Place  du,  Chariot  of,  273 

Carthusian  Chapel,  Dijon,  125 

Carver,  2S3 

Casa  Santa,  Loreto,  1S4 

Castellani  collection,  78 

Cavaliere  Alberto,  25S 

Cellini,  Benvenuto,  1S7 

"  Centaurs  and  Lapithae "  (Alca- 
menes),  51 

"  Cephalus  and  Aurora  "  (Flaxman), 

251 
Cephisodotus,  55 
Ceres  ;  Roman  temple  of,  83  ;  Livia 

as,  104 
Certosa   of    Pavia,    177  ;    194  ;    and 

Omodeo,  158 
Cesena,  156  ;  and  Lombardo,  192 
Chapelle  Expiatore,  274 
Chares  of  Lindos,  71 
"  Charity"  (Coysevox),  229 
Charles  I.  and  Bernini,  226 
Charles  VHI.,  177 


Charmidas,  32 
Chartres,  cathedral  of,  114 
Chaudet,  Antoine  Denis,  247 
Choragic  monument   of   Lysicrates, 

65 

Choragus,  65 

Christ  ;  early  statues  of,  106  ;  figure 
of,  at  Rheims,  117  ;  by  Vischer, 
174  ;  by  Michael  Angelo,  206  ;  by 
Coustou,  230  ;  by  Dannecker, 
248  ;  various  statues  of,  by  Thor- 
waldsen, 262  ;  by  Gibson,  277 

Christian  IV.,  Thorwaldsen's  statute 
of,  266 

Christian  VIII.  and  Thorwaldsen, 
266 

Christian  Art,  104 

"Christian  Charity"  (Thorwaldsen), 
262 

Christian  Frederick,  Prince,  259 

Christian  sculpture,  105 

Christiansborg  palace  and  Thorwald- 
sen, 258 

Chryselephantine  statues,  22 

Chur,  cathedral  of,  164 

Church  of  Our  Lady,  Thorwaldsen's 
works  in,  262 

Cimon,  patron  of  Phidias,  34 

Cincinnatus,  by  Chaudet,  24S 

Clone,  Andrea.  Arcagnuolo  di,  134 

Circumlitio,  284 

Civitali,  Matteo,  153 

Claudius  ;  and  the  Thespian  Cupid, 
61  ;  arch  of,  in  Rome,  98 

Clement  VII.  and  Cellini,  1S7 

Clement  XIII.,  Canova's  monument 
of,  242 

Clement  XIV.,  monument  of,  240 

Cleomenes,  86,  90 

Cnidos,  Venus  of,  60 

Coins,  Athenian,  35  ;  of  Elis,  35 

Colbert,  tomb  of,  229 

Colleoni  ;  statue  of,  149  ;  and  Leo- 
pardo,  155 


INDEX. 


289 


Colleoni  Chapel,  Bergamo,  157 

Cologne,  123 

Colonna,  Vittoria,  and  Michael  An- 
gelo,  209 

Color  ;  in  Assyrian  bas-reliefs,  14  ; 
in  ^ginetan  statues,  26  ;  in 
thirteenth     century     sculptures, 

115 
Colossi,   Egyptian,    8  ;  of  Thebes,  8 
Colossus  of  Rhodes,  71 
"Comedy"  (Flaxman),  251 
Como,  cathedral  of,  159 
"  Conception  "  (Montanes),  219 
Conde,    statues   of,     by    Coysevox, 

229  ;  by  David,  275 
Consalvi,  Cardinal,  263 
Constance,  cathedral  of,   163 
Constantine,    arch   of,  105  ;   column 
of,  108  ;  Bernini's  statue  of,  226 
Conway,  277 

Copernicus,     Thorwaldsen's    monu- 
ment to,  262 
Corinthian  capital,  53 
Cornacini,  74 
Corneto,  83 

Correggio  and  Begarelli,  193 
Cortona,  132 

Cosmo  I.,  and  Donatello,   144  ;  Gio- 
vanni  da   Bologna's   statue   of, 
214 
Cosmo  III.  and  "  Venus  de'  Medici," 

85 
Coustou,  Guillaume,  230 
Coustou,  Nicolas,  229 
Covent  Garden  Theatre,  251 
Cow,  Myron's  statue  of,  30 
Coysevox,  Antoine,  229 
Cracow  and  Veit  Stoss,  164 
Cresilas,  52 
"Crowning   of  the  Virgin "   (Stoss), 

165 
Cupid  ;  by  Praxiteles,  60  ;  by  Michael 
Angelo,     198  ;    by     Dannecker, 
248  ;  and  Psyche  (Thorwaldsen), 


257  ;   as   a    shepherd  (Gibson), 
(and  see  Eros) 
Cybele,  by  Cellini,  190 

DACIANS  on  Trajan's  Pillar,  99 
DcEdalus,  20  ;  and  Icarus  (Ca- 
nova),  239 
Damophilus,  83 

Dannecker,  Johann  Heinrich,  248 
Da  Siena,  Ugolino,  134 
David,  by  Donatello,    142  ;   by    Ve- 
rocchio,  149;  by  Michael  Angelo, 
200 
"  David  and  Goliath,"  139 
David  of  Angers,  274 
David,  Jacques  Louis,  274 
David,  Pierre  Jean,  274 
"  Day"  (Michael  Angelo),  206 
"  Death,"    by  Bernini,  226  ;   by    Pi- 

galle,  230 
"  Death  of  the  Virgin  "  (Strasburg), 

120 
Delphi,  bronzes  from,  84 
Demetrius  Poliorcetes,  71 
Demidoff,  Countess,    Bosio's   statue 

of,  274 
Denman,  Ann,  251 
"Deposition  from   the   Cross,"    by 

Pisano,  127  ;  by  Omodeo,  15S 
"  Descent  from    the   Cross"  (Bega- 
relli), 194 
"  Destruction  of  the  Gauls  in  Mysia," 

78 
Devonshire,  Duke  of,  276 

Diadochi,  73 

Diana  ;  temple  of,  at  Ephesus,  57  ; 
h  la  Biche,  95  (and  see  Arte- 
mis) 

Dibutades,  20 

Dijon,  125 

Diomed,  by  Myron,  31 

Diptychs,  109 

"  Discobolus  "  of  Myron,  30 

Donatello,   140 


290 


INDEX. 


Donato  di  Betto  Bardi,  140 
Dortmund,  wood-carvings  in,  167 
"  Doryphorus,"  by  Polycleitus,  54 
Dubois,  Cardinal,   Coustou's   statue 

of,  230 
Duquesnoy,  Fran5ois,  226,  231 
Durer,  Albrecht ;  166  ;  Rauch's  statue 

of,  271 
"  Dying  Gaul,"  79 
"  Dying  Warriors  "  (Schliiter),  232 

■pOREMONT,  Earl  of,  251 

Egyptians  ;  ancient    sculpture 

of,  I  ;  influence  of,  on  Etruscan 

art,  82 
"  Eldest   Daughter,"    Niobe    group, 

64 
Elector     Frederic     III.,     Schliiter's 

statue  of,  234 
Eleventh  century,  metal  work  in,  in 
Elgin,  Lord,  37 
Elgin  marbles,  35,  40 
Emo,  Admiral,  monument  of,  242 
Emperor  of  Austria,  Canova's    bust 

of,  243 
England  ;  sculpture  introduced  into, 

in   fourteenth   century,    125  ;  in 

sixteenth  century,  179 
"  Entombment  of  Christ"  (Roldan), 

220 
Erinnyes,  25 

Ernst,  Vischer's  monument  of,  171 
Eros,  55  ;  of   Centocelle,  60  (and  see 

Cupid) 
Escorial,  church  of,  221 
Esquiline,  Discobolos  found  on,  31 
Estofado,  220 
Etampes,  Mme.  d',  189 
Etruscans   originated    Italian  sculp- 
ture, 82 
Eurydice,  by  Canova,  23S 
Eurythmy,  49 
Eustathius  of  Rome,  loS 
Eve,  by  Cano,    220 


"  Evening  "  (Michael  Angelo),  206 
"Expulsion  of  Heliodorus  "  (Thor- 

waldsen),  254 
Eyck,  van,  178 

"PABBRICHE   NUOVA,  186 

Faliero,  Giovanni,  236 
Farnese  Palace  ;  and  Michael  Angelo, 

209  ;  della  Porta' s  statues  in,  212 
"  Farnesian  Bull,"  76 
"  Farnesian  Hercules,"  88 
Farsetti,    Commendatore  and  Cano- 
va, 237 
F^nelon,  David's  statue  of,  275 
Ferdinand  and   Isabella,  monument 

of,  180 
Ferrara,    Quercia's    works   in,   137  ;. 

Lombardo's  works  in,  192 
Ferrari,  Giuseppe,  and  Canova,  237 
Ferrucci,  Andrea,  152 
Fiammingo,  II,  213 
"  Fidelity"  (Coysevox),  229 
Fiesole,  Mino  da,  152 
Fifteenth  century,  136 
Finlay,  Gibson's  statue  of,  276 
Fionia,  Island  of,  257 
Fiorino,  187 

"  Fischkasten"  (Syrlin),  163 
Flaccus,   Fulvius,  and   statues  from 

Volsinii,  82 
Flaminius,  84 
Flaxman,  John,  250 
Flora,  Julia  as,  104 
Florence  ;  and  Giovanni  Pisano,  132  ; 

and    Pietro    di    Giovanni,    135  ; 

Ghiberti's  works  in,  140 
Florence,  Baptistery  of,  133 
Florence,  cathedral  of,  high  altar  in, 

212 
Forum  Trajani,  98 
Fountain  ;  by    Labenwolf,   176 ;    by 

Giovanni  da  Bologna,   214  ;  by 

Bernini,  226  ;  of  the  Manneken- 

Pis,  227  ;  Moli^re,  274 


INDEX. 


291 


"Fourteenth  century,  122 
Fra  Guglielmo  d'Agnello,  130 
France  in  fourteenth  century,  124 
Francis   I.,   148,    176  ;  and    Rustici, 
183  ;    and   Cellini,   189  ;  monu- 
ment of,  by  Pilon,  216 
Franke,  Rauch's  statue  of,  271 
Frankfort,  wood-carvings  in,  167 
Frari,  church  of,  154 
.Frauenkirche,      Nuremberg  ;    123; 

Krafft's  works  in,  167 
Frederic  II.,  127 
Frederick    the       Great,     Schadow's 

statue  of,  269 
Freiburg,  cathedral  of,  121 
French  monuments,  Museum  of,  230 
Friedrich  August,  Rietschel's  statue 

of,  271 
Friedrichs  monument,  271 
Frue  Kirche,  268 
Fulvius  Nobilior,  84 
Furstenburg,    Cardinal,  and   Coyse- 

vox,  229 
"Fury  of  Athamas"  (Flaxman),  251 

GALLIC     theory "     concerning 
Apollo,  Diana,  and  Minerva, 
96 
"  Gallic  Warrior"  in  Venice,  78 
Gambarelli,  The,  151 
Ganymede,    by    Leochares,    65  ;   by 

Thorwaldsen,  260 
Gattamelata,  statue  of,  145 
Genii,  by  Thorwaldsen,  268 
Genoa,  153 
Genre  ;  Apoxyomenos   as     example 

of,  70  ;  sculpture,  81 
Germany,  Emperor  of,  270 
GhibelHne  Street,  21 1 
Ghiberti,  Lorenzo,   133,   138 
Ghirlandajo,  Domenico,  and  Michael 

Angelo,  195 
Gibson,  John,  275 
Giovanni,  Luca  di,  137 


Giovanni,  Pietro  di,  135 
Girardon,  Fran9ois,  228 
Glycon,  88 

Glyptothek,    Munich  ;    groups   from 
^gina  in,   25  ;  Barberini    Faun 
in,    73  ;   Thorwaldsen's   Adonis 
in,  258  ;  Schwanthaler's  decora- 
tion of,  271 
'•  Gobbo,  II."     6'f^Solari 
Goethe,  Tieck's  statue  of,  270 
Golden  House  of  Nero,  84  ;  "  Venus 

Callipiga"  in,  87 
Gorgasus,  83 
Gothic  style,   114,   ii5  ;  in    German 

art,  120  ;  hindrances  of,  160 
Gottfried  of  Strasburg,  115 
Gottskalken,  Thorvald,  253 
Goujon,  Jean,  216 

Graces,  The,  by  Pilon,  216  ;   by  Ca- 
nova,  241  ;  by  Thorwaldsen,  260 
Granacci,  Francesco,  194 
Granada,    cathedral    of.    Virgin    by 

Cano  in,  220 
Great  Elector,  Schluter's   statue   of, 

233- 
Greece  ;  ancient  sculpture  of,  iS  ;  re- 
ligion  of,    19  ;   influence  of,  on 
Etruscan  art,  82  ;  portrait  sculp- 
ture in,  100 
Gregory  XVI.,  Pope,  100 
Grimani,  Senator,  239 
Grimm  ;  concerning  Donatello's   St. 
George,    143  ;    concerning    Mi- 
chael Angelo's  David,  200 
Grolund,  Karen,  253 
Grumbach,  statue  of  (Krafft),  168 
Guardian  Angel,  church  of,  iSo 
"Guardian    Angel"   (Thorwaldsen), 

262 
Guido  Reni,  64 
Guillain,  Simon,  227 
Guillaume  de  Sens,  121 
Guinifort  and  Omodeo,  15S 
Gutenberg  memorial,  Strasburg,  275 


292 


INDEX. 


T  T  ADRIAN,    Emperor  ;     and    ar- 
chaistic  period,  27  ;   and  Gly- 
con,  SS 
Halle  ;  wood-carvings  in,  167  ;  statue 

of  Franke  in,  271 
Hamilton,  Gavin,  60 
Harald  Hildetand,  252 
Harcourt,  Comte  d',  Pigalle's  statue 

of,  230 
"  Harpy  Monument,"  24 
Hartmann  of  Aue,  115 
Hayder,  Simon,  163 
Hebe,  by  Thorwaldsen,  25S 
Heinrich    II.,     Krafft's    statue     of, 

168 
Helios,  69 

Henry  H.,  monument  of,  216 
Henry  HI.  of  England,  121 
Henry  VH.,  monument  of,  179 
Hephaestus  (Vulcan)  by  Alcamenes, 

49 

Hera  ;  statue  of,  by  Polycleitus,  53  ; 
temple  of,  at  Argos,  53  (and  see 
Juno) 

Heracles  (Hercules) ;  and  Triton,  23  ; 
and  Cecrops,  23  (and  j-tv  Her- 
cules) 

Hercules  ;  by  Scopas,  59  ;  by  Lysip- 
pus,  69  ;  caricature  of,  80  ;  the 
Farnesian,  SS  ;  by  Vlscher,  174  ; 
by  Michael  Angelo,  196 ;  and 
Xessus,  by  Giovanni  da  Bologna, 
214  ;  by  Pigalle,  230 ;  and  Li- 
chas,  by  Canova,  247  (and  see 
Heracles) 

Hermes,  by  Thorwaldsen,  258 

Hernandez,  Gregorio,  218,  220 

Hesperides,  apples  of,  89 

Hieracosphinx,  6 

Hildesheim,  bronze  gate  at,  112 

History  shown  by  Assyrian  bas-re- 
liefs, 16 

Honor  and  Valor,  temple  of,  83 

Hope,  Thomas,  251,  256 


"  Hope,"    Thorwaldsen's  statue    of, 

260 
Hosmer,  Harriet,  278 
Hoyer,  253 

Humboldt,  Baron  von,  257,  258 
Huskisson,  Gibson's  statue  of,  276 
"  Hylas  and  Nymphs"  (Gibson),  277 

T  LIAD,  selection  from,  94 

Intarsiatore,  152 
Iphigenia,  relief  of,  90 
Isabella  of  Aragon,  statue  of,  119 
Ischia,  Marquis  of,  244 
Isocephalism,  44 

Italian  classic  sculpture,  time  of,  105 
Italy  in  fourteenth  century,  126 
Ivory  carving  ;    in  Byzantium,   108  ; 

in  Germany,  no;  in  fourteenth 

century,  123 

JACOB  and  Esau,"  139 
Jacopo  della  Fonte,  137 
Jaen,  cathedral  of,  220 
Janina,  92 

Jason,  by  Thorwaldsen,  255 
Johannis  Cemetery,   167,   168 
"John    the    Baptist,"    by     Andrea 

Pisano,  134  ;  by  Berruguete,  218 
Jordan,  Esteban,  218 
Joseph  ;  history  of,  by  Ghiberti,  139  ; 

and  Potiphar's  wife,  193 
Joseph    of    Arimathea,   by    Canova, 

243 

"Joshua  before  Jericho,"  139 

Julia  as  Flora,  104 

Julia  and  Canova,  246 

Julius  H.,  Pope;  and  the  Laocoon, 
74  ;  and  Sansovino,  1S4 ;  and 
Michael  Angelo,  202  ;  mauso- 
leum of,  206 

"Junction  of  the  Seine  and  Marne" 
(Coustou),  230 

Juni,  Juan  de,  218,  220 

Juno.  86  (and  see  Hera) 


INDEX. 


293 


Jupiter  ;  Otricoli,  36  ;  temple  of,    at 
Olympia,    51  ;      "  Tonans"     on    1 
Trajan's  Pillar,  99  ;  as  St.  Peter, 
107  (and  see  Zeus) 

Juste,  Jean,  177 

"Justice,"    by  Krafft,   170;  by  Vis- 
cher,  174  ;  by  della  Porta,  212 

Justinian,  monument  of,  108 

KALIDE,  Theodore,  272 
King  of  Prussia  and  Schadow, 

269 
Konigsbau,  271 
Konigsberg,  statue  in,  234 
Kora,  20 

Krafft,  Adam,  167 
"  Kreugas    and    Damoxenes"    (Ca- 

nova),  247 
Kriosphinx,  6 
Kunigunde,  by  Krafft,  168 
Kiinz,  Nicolaus,  170 

T    ABENWOLF,  Pankraz,  175 
-*-^     Lamberger,  Simon,  171 
"  Lamentation"  (Krafft),  170 
Lamp  of   Minerva,  by  Callimachus, 

53 
Laocoon,  74  ;  by  Sansovino,  185 
*'  Last  Judgment,"  of  Rheims  cathe- 
dral, 117 
Lateran  ;  Myron's    Marsyas  in,    31  ; 
antique    statue    of    Nemesis   in, 
51  ;  statue  of  Sophocles  in,  100  ; 
statue  of  St.  Hippolitus  in,  106  ; 
Sarcophagi    in,    107  ;     Bernini's 
"  Pieta"  in,  226 

Leah,  by  Michael  Angelo,  206 

Le  Mans,  cathedral  of,  114 

Lenox  Gallery,  New  York,  277 

Leo  I.,  Pope,  107 

Leo  X.,   Pope,    148,    184;  and   Mi- 
chael Angelo,  204 

Leo  Xn.  and  Thorwaldsen,  263 

Leochares,  65 


Leopardo,  Alessandro,  149,  155 
Lessing,      Tieck's    statue    of,    270 ; 

Rietschel's  statue  of,  271 
Leuchtenberg,  Duke   of,  monument 

to,  263 
Liebfrauenkirche,  178 
"  Lion  of  Lucerne"  (Thorwaldsen), 

261 
Liverpool  Cemetery,  chapel,  277 
Livia,  wife  of  Augustus,   102,  104 
Loggia  de'  Lanzi,    Florence,   groups 

in,  213 
Loggietta  of  the  Campanile,  Venice, 

186 
Lombardi,  The,  154 
Lombardo,  Alfonso,  192 
"  Lord's    Supper  "     (Thorwaldsen), 

262 
Loreto,  184 
Louis  of  Bavaria   and  Thorwaldsen, 

258,  262,  263 
Louis  XIL,  monument  of,  177 
Louis    XII L,   Anguier's    statue    of, 

228 
Louis  XIV. ;  Guillain's  statue  of,  227  ; 
and  Girardon,   228  ;   Coysevox's 
statue  of,  229  ;  Coustou's  statue 
of,  230 
Louis  XVIII.;    and  Venus  of   Milo, 

87  ;  Bosio's  statue  of,  274 
Louise,    Queen,   Rauch's   statue   of, 

270 
Louvre,  Paris  ;  Egyptian  collection 
in,  I  ;  archaic  reliefs  in,  23  ; 
"  Venus  of  Milo  "  in,  87  ;  statue 
of  Artemis  in,  95  ;  Museum  of 
Modern  Sculpture  in,  177  ;  mon- 
ument by  Juste  in,  178  ;  Celli- 
ni's nymph  in,  190  ;  Pilon's 
"  Graces  "  in,  216  ;  bas-reliefs 
by  Goujon  in,  216  ;  Sarrazin's 
works  in,  227  ;  Guillain's  Louis 
XIV.  in,  227  ;  Girardon's  works 
in.  228  ;   Puget's  works  in,  229 


294 


INDEX. 


"  Love    in   Repose  "  (Thorwaldsen), 

254 

Liibke,  Wilhelm  ;  concerning  Apollo 
Belvedere,  94  ;  concerning  four- 
teenth century,  221  ;  concern- 
ing Schliiter,  233 

Lucca,  12S,  137 

Lucian,  concerning  Calamis,  32 

Ludovico  Moro  and  Omodeo,  159 

Luther,  bust  of  (Thorwaldsen),  26S  ; 
Schadow's  monument  to,  269  ; 
Rietschel's  statue  of,  271 

Lysippus,  68  ;  school  of,  72  ;  Her- 
cules by,  88  ;  power  of,  89 

Lytton,  Lord,  concerning  Gibson, 
277 

"IV/r  ADONNA,  statue  of  (Freiburg), 
121  ;  repetition   of,    122  ;    by 

Arnolfo    di    Cambio,     133  ;    by 

Stoss,  165  ;    by  Michael  Angelo, 

196,  200 
Madonna   del    Soccorso,    chapel    of, 

216 
Magnani,  Anna  Maria,  256 
Maidbrunn,  Krafft's  work  in,  170 
*'  Maiden    and    Bird"    (Dannecker), 

248 
Majano,  Benedetto  da,  152 
Manuel,  Nicolaus,  170 
Marburg,  wood-carvings  in,  167 
Marcellus,  83 
Marcus  Aurelius  ;  arch  of,  in  Rome, 

98  ;  statue  of,  209 
Maria    Louisa,   Canova's    statue    of, 

243 

Marienkirche,  Count  Sparr's  monu- 
ment in,  231 

Mark,  Count  von  der,  269 

Mars  ;  and  the  Romans,  by  Sanso- 
vino,  186  ;  by  Thorwaldsen, 
258  ;  and  Cupid,  by  Gibson,  276, 
277 

Marsyas,  by  Myron,  31 


Martisen,  Egyptian  sculptor,  i 

Mary  of  Aragon,  152 

Marys,  The,  by  Canova,  243 

Massegne,  The,  135 

Massimi  Villa,  30 

Matthias  Corvinus,  152 

Mausoleum,  57 

Mausolus,  56 

Maximianus,  cathedra  of,  108 

Maximilian  I.,  Rauch's  statue  of,  271 

Mazarin,  Cardinal,  tomb  of,  229 

Medemet  Haboo,  sculpture  in,  4 

Medes,  17 

Medici,  Catherine  de',  216 

Medici,  Cosmo  de',  144  ;  and  Cel- 
lini,   190 

Medici,  Giuliano  de',  204 

Medici,  Lorenzo  de',   195,  204 

Medici,  Piero  de',  144  ;  and  Michael 
Angelo,  196 

Melos,  50 

Mendelsohn    and  Thorwaldsen,  267 

Menides  of  Antiocheia,  87 

Mercury,  by  Sansovino,  186  ;  by 
Giovanni  da  Bologna,  214  ;  by 
Pigalle,  230  ;  by  Thorwaldsen, 
260 

Merovingians,  statues  of,  119 

Metal  work  ;  Assyrian,  14  ;  in  tenth 
century,  no  ;  in  eleventh  cen- 
tury, III 

Michael    Angelo  ;    attempted  to    re- 
store the  Laocoon,  74  ;  concern- 
ing   Ghiberti's    gates,    139  ;  and 
I  Cellini,  1S7,  191,   194 

[    Milan,  156  ;  cathedral  of,  and  Omo- 
deo,  158 
I    Milo  (Melos),  87 

j    Milo,  by  Puget,  229  ;   by  Dannecker, 
j  248 

j    Minerva  ;  temple  of,   in  ^gina,  25  ; 
of  the  Capitol,  95  ;  temple  of,  in 
!  the  Forum,  98  (and  sc'e  Athena 

I  and  Pallas) 


INDEX. 


29^ 


Mocenigo,  Doge  Pietro,  155 
Modena,  Antonio  da,  193 
"  Moderation"  (Vischer),  174 
Montanes,  Juan  Martinez,  218 
Monte  Oliveto,  152 
Montmorenci,  Duke  de,  tomb  of,  228 
Montorsoli  attempted  to  restore  the 

Laocoon,  74 
Monumental  sculpture   of  thirteenth 

century,  119 
Moore,   Sir  John,    Flaxman's  statue 

of,  251 
Moritz,  statue  of  (Pigalle),  230 
Morley,  Mrs.,  monument  of,  251 
"  Morning"  (Michael  Angelo),  206 
Moses  ;  on    Mount     Sinai,    139  ;   by 

Michael      Angelo,      206,      207  ; 

Aaron,  and  Hur  (Ranch),  271 
"  Moses  Fountain,"  125 
Mount  Cithaeron and  "Farnese  Bull," 

76  _ 
Mummius  and  Grecian  spoils,  84 
Munich,  group  by  Cephisodotus  in, 

55 
Murillo,  221 

"  Music  "  (della  Robbia),  146 
Mycenae,  Lion  Gate  of,  20 
Myron   of  Eleutherae,   30  ;  followers 

of,  51 

"^r  APLES  ;  Laocoon  group  in,  76  ; 

historical  statues  in,  78 
Naples,  Museum  of;  "Venus  Calli- 

piga"in,  87  ;  and  "Farnese  Bull, 

76  ;   "  Farnesian    Hercules"    in, 

88 
Napoleon  and  Canova,  242,  243 
National  Gallery,  London,  277 
"Nativity,"  by  Rossellino,  152;  by 

Anguier,  228 
Nemesis  of  Agoracritus,  51 
Neptune ;    by   Sansovino,    186 ;    by 

Cellini,    190 ;    by    Giovanni   da 

Bologna,  214 


Nero,  and  the  Thespian  Cupid,  61  ; 
and  Grecian  spoils,  84 

Niccolo  of  Arezzo,  135 

Nicodemus  ;  by  Krafft,  170  ;  by  Ban- 
dinelli,  212  ;  by  Canova,  243 

"  Night,"  by  Michael  Angelo,  206, 
208 

"  Nile  of  the  Vatican,"  73 

Nimes,  Pradier's  fountain  at,  274 

Nimrud,  bas-reliefs  at,  13 

Niobe  ;  of  Mount  Sipylus,  20  ;  group, 
61  ;  myth  of,  62 

Noah,   139 

Noceto,  153 

Notre  Dame,  church  of  ;  statue  of 
Louis  XIV.  in,  229  ;  Coustou's 
sculptures  in,  230  ;  d'Harcourt's 
monument  in,  230 

Nuremberg  ;  sculptures  of,  123  ;  and 
Veit  Stoss,  164 ;  and  Wohl- 
gemuth, 166  ;  statue  of  Diirer 
in,  271 

"Nymph,"  by  Dannecker,  248;  by 
Bosio,  273 

Nysoe  and  Thorwaldsen,  265 

/^BELISKS,  4 

^^^     Octavia,  portico  of,  and  Venus 

de'  Medici,  85 
OEdipus,  by  Chaudet,  248 
Oehlenschlager,  265 
Oluf  Paa,  252 
Olympiad,  41 
Olympic  games,  41 
Omodeo.      Sn'  Amadeo 
Or  San  Michele,  church  of,  134,  143, 

149 
Orcagna,  Andrea,  134 
"Orpheus  and  Eurydice"  (Canova), 

238 
Orvieto,  133 
Osborne,  277 
Othman  IV.,  Caliph,   and  Colossus 

of  Rhodes,  72 


296 


INDEX. 


Our  Lady,  church  of,  Nuremberg, 
123 

pADUA,  137,  156 

"*■  "  Painting,  Sculpture,  and  Ar- 
chitecture," relief  of,  by  Chaudet, 
24S 

Palais  de  Justice  (Bruges),  178 

Palazzo  Grassi,  193 

Palazzo  Pubblico,  fountain  in  front 
of,  214 

Palazzo  Torlonia  (Rome),  277 

Palazzo  Vecchio,  149,  214 

Pallajuolo,  184 

Pallas,  by  Sansovino,  186  (and  see 
Athena  and  Minerva) 

Panathenaic  Procession,  41 

Pandareus,  King,  25 

Panhellenic  games,  29 

Pantheon,  influence  of,  upon  sculp- 
ture, 29 

Pantheon,  Paris,  275 

Paris  ;  historic  statue  in,  7S  ;  cathe- 
drals of,  114 

Paros,  56 

Parthenon,  frieze  of  ;  35  ;  40  ;  groups 
of  seven  on,  42  ;  central  group 
in,  43  ;  historical  value  of,  45  ; 
inequality  of  work  in,  45 

Paul  III.  and  Michael  Angelo,  206; 
monument  of,  212 

Paul  V.  and   Bernini,  223 

Pavia,  Omodeo  in,  158 

"  Peace,"  by  della  Porta,  212  ;  bjr 
Coysevox,  229  ;  by  Chaudet, 
248 

Peel,  Sir  Robert,  Gibson's  statue  of, 

277 
Peleus,  86 

Pelopf)nnesus,  school  of,  53,  68 
Peloponnesian     war,     effect    of,    on 

sculpture,  54 
"  Pensieri,"  by  Canova,  246 
Peplos,  41 


Pepoli,  bust  of,  193 

Pergamon,  school  of,  78  ;  and  the 
Dying  Gaul,  79 

Periclean  age,  29 

Pericles  ;  patron  of  Phidias,  32  ;  por- 
trait statue  of,  52  ;  qualities  of,  54 

Perkins,   Mr.  ;      concerning    Nicola ; 
Pisano,    130  ;    concerning  Ama- 
deo,  157 

Perry,  Walter  Copeland  ;  concerning 
Athena,  39  ;  concerning  "  Venus 
of  Milo,"  88 

Perseus  ;  by  Vischer,  174  ;  by  Cel- 
lini, 190 ;  and  Andromeda,  b^ 
Puget,  229  ;  by  Canova,  243 

Perseus  of  Macedon,  84 

Persians,  17 

Perugia  ;  fountain  of,  129  ;  Giovanni 
Pisano's  works  in,  132 

Peter  the  Great  and  Schliiter,  234 

Phalereus,  Demetrius,  statues  to,  73 

Phidias  ;  forerunners  of,  29  ;  and 
Pericles,  32  ;  and  Praxiteles, 
56  ;  and  Ly^ippus,  70  ;  statue  of 
Athena  by,  84  ;  superiority  of, 
89  ;  and  thirteenth  century,  iiS 

Philip,  Elector,  and  Vischer,  171 

Philip  the  Bold  ;  statue  of,  119  ;  and 
Sluter,  125 

"  Phrixos  and  Helle,"  186 

Phryne  and  Praxiteles,  60 

Piazza  della  Signoria,  214 

Piazza  Navona,  fountain  in,  226 

Piazza  of  San  Lorenzo  (Florence), 
212 

Piccolomini  tomb,  Siena,  200 

"  Pieta  ;"  by  Michael  Angelo,  200  ; 
by  Bernini,  226 

Pigalle,   Jean  Baptiste,  230 

Pilon,  Germain,  216 

Pisa  ;  Baptistery  of,  128  ;  and  Gio- 
vanni Pisano,  131  ;  Nino  Pisa- 
no's works  in,  134  ;  cathedral  of, 
214 


INDEX. 


297 


Pisani,  Senator,   239 

Pisano,  Andrea,  133,  134 

Pisano,  Giovanni,  131 

Pisano,  Nicola,  127,  133 

Pisano,  Nino,  134 

Pistoja,  132,   148 

Pitt,  Flaxman's  statue  of,  251 

Pius  VII.,  monument  of,  263 

Pliny  ;  concerning  the  first  bas-relief, 
20  ;  concerning  Cresilas,  52  ; 
concerning  the  Niobe  group, 
61  ;  concerning  the  Laocoon, 
74  ;  and  Boethus,  80 

Plutarch,  concerning  the  Pericleian 
age,  35 

Plutus,  58 

Point,  2S3 

Pointer,  283 

Poliorcetes,  Demetrius,  72 

Poliziano,  ig6 

Pollio,  Asinius,    76 

Polychromy,  284 

Polycleitus,  53  ;  canon  of,  54  ;  and 
Peloponnesian  school,  68 

Polydorus  and  the  Laocoon,  74 

Pompadour,  Mme.,  230 

Pompeii,  28 

Poncher  monument,   178 

Porta,  Guglielmo  della,  212 

Porta  Prima,  102 

Portogallo,  Cardinal,  152 

Portrait  sculpture  ;  archaic,  22  ;  in 
Greece  and  Rome,  100 

Possagno  and  Canova,  244 

Pradier,  James,  274 

Prague,  123 

Prato,  cathedral  of,  132 

Praxiteles,  85 

Preller,  Ludwig,  and  Apollo  Belve- 
dere, 93 

"  Priam  begging  Hector's  body  " 
(Thorwaldsen),  254 

Proconsolo,  151 

Prometheus,  by  Pradier,  274 


Proven9al   Poets,  114 

"  Prudence  ;"  by  Vischer,  174  ;  by 
della  Porta,  212  ;  by  Coysevox, 
229 

Psyche  ;  by  Canova,  242  ;  by  Thor- 
waldsen, 25S  ;  by  Pradier,  274  ; 
and  Zephyrs,  by  Gibson,  277 

Ptolemy,  Alexander's  general,   73 

Puget,  Pierre,  229 

Pythagoras  of  Rhegium,  30 

QUELLINUS,  Arthur,  231 
Ouercia,  Jacopo  della,  137 
Quintilian,  concerning  Timanthes,  91 
Quirinal  Palace;  Thorwaldsen's  frieze 
in,  259;  Thorwaldsen's  works  in, 
268 
"  Quoit-thrower"  of  Myron,  30 

"O  ACHEL,"  by  Michael  Angelo, 
-"-^     206 

Racine,  illustrated  by  Chaudet,  248 

Raimondi,  193 

Rameses  II.,  colossus  of,  8 

"  Rape  of  Proserpine,"    by  Bernini, 

224  ;  by  Girardon,  228      , 
"  Rape  of   the    Sabines  "    (Giovanni 

da  Bologna),  213 
Rauch,   Christian,   270 
Ravenna,  ivory  carving  in,  108 
"  Religion,"  by   Coysevox,    229  ;  by 

Canova,   244 
Renaissance,  136 
Rene,  King,   statue  of,  275 
"  Resurrection       of       the       Dead  ' 

(Rheims    117 
Rezzonico.  Prince,  and  Canova,  243 
Rhamnus    and  Nemesis    of   Agora- 

critus,  51 
Rheims,   cathedral  of,  116 
Rhodes  ;  colossus  of,  71  ;  undisturb- 
ed  by   death  of  Alexander,  73  ; 

and      the    Farnese    Bull,      76  ; 

school  of,  78 


298 


INDEX. 


"  Rhone,"  by  Coustou,  230 

Richelieu,  monument  of,  22S 

Riemenschneider,  Tilman,  i63 

Rietschel,  Ernst,  271 

Rilievo,  281 

Rimini,  156 

Riviere,   Marquis  of,  87 

Rizzo,  or  Riccio,  Antonio,  154 

Robbia,  Luca  della,  146 

Robbia  ware,  14S 

Rodari,  The,  159 

Roldan,  Louisa,  220 

Roldan.  Pedro,  220 

Romanesque  period,  113 

Rome,  lack  of  artists  in,  83  ;  portrait 

sculpture  of,  loi  ;   decline  of  art 

in,  104 
Rosch,  Jacob,  164 
Roscoe,  William,  276 
Rossellini,  The,  151 
Rossellino,  Antonio,  151 
Rossi,  Properzia  de',  192 
Roux,  Roulland  de,  177 
Rovere,  monument  of,  184 
Royal  Academy,  London,  277 
Rubens,  221 
Ruhmeshalle,  271 
Rustici,  Giovanni  Francesco,  1S3 


"  C  ACRIFICE  of  Isaac,"  139 

"^     Sacristy  of  St.  Mark's,  186 
St.  Andrew,  by  Duquesnoy,  227 
St.  Angelo,  bridge  of,  225 
St.  Bibiana,  by  Bernini,  225 
St.  Denis,  cathedral  of,    114;  reliefs 
of,    119;  and  Sluter,  125;  mon- 
ument in,  178 
St.  Dominick,  sarcophagus  of,  128 
St.  George,  by  Donatello,  143 
St.  George's  Hall  (Liverpool),  277 
St.  Germain  I'Auxerrois,  178 
St.  Hippolytus,  statue  of,  106 
St.  Jacques,  church  of,    178 


St.  John  ;   by    Bernardo   Rossellino, 

151  ;  by  Canova,  243 
St.  John  the  Baptist  ;  chapel  of,  153  ; 
by  Rustici,  1S3  ;    by    Thorwald- 
sen,  262 
St.  Laurence,  church  of,  Nuremberg, 

123  ;  Krafft's  works  in,  167 
St.  Longinus,  by  Bernini,  225 
St.  Mark's,  library  of,  i36 
St.  Michael,  by  Luisa  Roldan,   221 
St.  Nicolas,  church  of,  229 
St.  Peter  ;  statue  of,  on  Trajan's  Pil- 
lar, 98  ;  statue  of,  in  St.  Peter's, 
106  ;  and    the    Paralytic,   Thor- 
waldsen,  254 
St.  Peter's  ;  Cathedral  (Rome),  106  ; 
Pieta  in,  200  ;  monument  of  Paul 
III.    in,    212  ;    Bernini's    sculp- 
tures in,  225  ;   Duquesnoy's    St. 
Andrew  in,    227  ;  monument  of 
Pius  VII..    263  ;  Thorwaldsen's 
works  in,  268 
St.  Sebald,    church    of  (Nuremberg), 
123  ;    Krafft's    works    in,    167  ; 
shrine  of  (Vischer),  171 
St.  Sebastian,  by  Civitali,   153 
St.  Susanna,  by  Duquesnoy,  227 
St.  Thomas,    church    of  (Strasburg), 

230 
St.  Zenobius,  sarcophagus  of,  140 
Ste.  Chapelle,  church  of,  116 
SS.  Giovanni  e  Paolo,  church  of,  149, 

155 
Salt-cellar,  by  Cellini,  189 
San  Antonio,  church  of  (Padua), relief 

in,  155 
San  Benedetto,  church   of  (Mantua), 

194 
San  Benito  el  Real,  church  of,  217 
San  Domenico,  church  of   (Orvieto). 

133 
San  Domenico,   sarcophagus  of,   198 

San  Francesco,  church   of  (Ancona), 
156 


INDEX. 


299 


San  Francesco,  church  of  (Modena), 

San  Francesco,  church   of  (Rim in  1), 

156 
San  Francesco  della  Vigna,  186 
San  Giovanni   Crisostomo,  relief  in, 

155 
San  Giovanni  de'  Fiorentini,  186 
San  Lorenzo,  church  of,  204 
San  Martino,   cathedral   of  (Lucca), 

127 
San  Miniato,  church  of,  152 
San  Petronio,  church  of   (Bologna), 

193,  198 
San  Piero  Maggiore,  church  of  (Flor- 
ence), 210 
San  Pietro  in  Vincoli,  church  of,  206 
Santa   Croce,    church   of,  and   Don- 
atello,    140  ;    and    Brunelleschi, 
142 ;    monument    of    Bruni    in, 
151;    pulpit    in,    152;    Michael 
Angelo  buried  in,  210 
Santa    Maria    de'  Frari,    church    of 
(Florence),   Canova's    tomb    in, 

245 
Santa   Maria  del  Fiore,    church   of, 

206 
Santa  Maria  del  Popolo,  184 
Santa  Maria  della  Spina,  church  of, 

131 
Santa  Maria  di    Loreto,  church  of, 

227 
Santa  Maria  Novella,  church  of,  142, 

152 
Sangallo,  Francesco,  187 
Sansovino  (San  Savino),  Andrea,  183 
Sansovino,  Jacopo,  185 
"  Saone,"  by  Coustou,  230 
Sappho,  by  Pradier,  274 
Sardanapalus  L,  statue  of,  12 
Sarrazin,  Jacques,  227 
Satyr,  by  Praxiteles,  60 
Saviour,  by  Canova,  242 
Scale-stones,  283 


Schadow,  John  Gottfried,  269 
Schadow,  John  Rudolph,  269 
Scharnhorst,  Rauch's  statue  of,  270 
Schelling,  Tieck's  statue  of,  270 
Schinkel,  269,  270 
Schliemann,  Dr.,  and  the  metope  ol 

Ilium,   73 
Schluter,  Andreas,   231 
Schubart,  Baron  von,  256 
Schwabach  and  Wohlgemuth,  166 
Schwan thaler,   Ludwig,  271 
Scopas,  56  ;  and  Leochares,  65 
Scorgola,  la,  abbey  of,  129 
Scuola  della  Misericordia,  186 
Sebenico,  Giorgio  da,  156 
Seguier,   Pierre,    bust  of,    227  ;  and 

Girardon,  228 
Selene  on  Trajan's  Pillar,  99 
Selinus,  reliefs  from,  23,  24 
Senate  Chamber,  Chaudet's  Cincin- 
natus  in,  248 

Septimius   Severus,  arch  of  (Rome), 
98 

Serra  family,   57 

Settignanc,  Desiderio  da,  152 

"  Seven  Sorrows  of  the  Virgin,"  165 

"  Seven  Stages  "  (Krafft),  167 

Seventeenth  century,  221 

Seville,  altars  of,   179 

Sforza,  Battista,  bust  of,  151 

Sforza,   Cardinal,   monument  of,  1S4 

Sicyon,  68  ;  school  of,  72 

Siena,  cathedral  of,  128  ;  and  Gio- 
vanni Pisano,  132  ;  and  Quercia, 
138  ;  and  Ghiberti,   140 

"  Sirens  "  (Giovanni  da  Bologna), 
214 

Sistine  Chapel  and  Michael  Angelo, 

203 
Sixteenth  century,  181 
Sixtus  v.,  Pope,  98 
"  Sleeping  Shepherd  "  (Gibson),  277 
Sluter,  Claux,  125  ;  influence  of,  161 
Socrates,  55.   27S 


;oo 


INDEX. 


Solari,  Cristoforo,  15S 

"  Solomon    and   Queen    of    Sheba," 

139.  193 
Sophocles,  statue  of,  100 
Sorbonne,  church  of  the,  22S 
Sosius,  61 

South  Kensington  Museum,  148 
Sparr,  Count,  monument  of,  231 
Sphinx,  6 
"  Spinario,"  81 
"  Spinner  "  (Schadow),  269 
Squarcione,  Francesco,  137 
Stael,   Mme.  de,   David's    statue  of, 

275 
Stampe,  Baron    von,  and  Thorwald- 

sen,  265 

Statuettes.   Assyrian,    12 

Steinbach,  Sabina  von,  120 

"  Steinhauser,  Apollo,"  91 

Stephani  and  "  Apollo  Belvedere," 
92 

Stephenson,  Gibson's  statue    of,  277 

Stettin,   269 

Stoss,  Veit,  164 

Strada  Babbuino,   242 

Strasburg,  cathedral  of,  120  ;  Guten- 
berg memorial  in,  275 

•'  Strength  "  (Vischer),  174 

"  Stroganoff  Apollo,"  92 

Strozzi,  Filippo,  monument  of,  152 

Strozzi   Palace,  152 

Stuart  and  Revett,  236 

Stuttgart,  123 

Sulla  and  Grecian  spoils,  84 

Svvabian  School,  162 

Syrlin,  Jorg,   162 

n^ALMA,  David's  statue  of,  275 

Tatti,  Jacopo,  1S5 
Tauriscus,    of  the  Tore  Farnese,  76 
Tavera,  Juan  de,  218 
Tedesco,  Pietro,  135 
"Temperance"   (Giovanni  Pisano), 
131 


Temple  Church,  121 

Tenth  century,  metal  work  in,  no 

Terra-cotta,   281 

Terra-cottas  in  Milan,  157 

Theatre  Fran9ais,  Talma's  statue  in, 

275 
Theodosius,  column  and  obelisk  of, 

108 
Theseion,  33 
Theseus  ;  temple  of,  by  Phidias,  33  ; 

torso  of,  37  ;  and  the  Minotaur, 

Canova,  240 
Thetis,  86 
Thiele,     concerning     Thorwaldsen, 

26S,  269 
Thirteenth  century,  114 
Thorwaldsen,     Bertel  ;     and    reliefs 

from  ^gina,  26  ;  and  classic  art, 

236  ;  life  and  works,   252 
Thorwaldsen  Museum,  267,  268 
Tiberius  and  the  Apoxymenos,  70 
Tieck,  Christian   Frederic,  270 
Timanthes,  90 
Titus  ;  and  the  Laocoon,  74  ;  arch  of 

(Rome),  98 
Toledo  ;  altars  of,  179  ;  cathedral  of, 

217 
Toretto,   237 
"  Toro  Farnese,"  76 
Torrigiano,  Pietro  ;  in  England,  179  ; 

and  Cellini,  iSS 
Tours,  cathedral  of,  177 
Trajan  ;    arch  of,  98,  105  ;  pillar  of, 

98 
Tralles,  76 
Trastevere,  Apoxyomenos  found  in, 

70 
Tribolo,  II.  (Braccini),  187 
Trojan  war  in  yEginetan  reliefs,  26 
Tuileries  ;    Chaudet's    "  Peace"    in, 

248  ;  statue   of    Prometheus    in, 

274 
Tuscany,  136 
Twelfth  century,  112 


INDEX. 


301 


T  TFFIZI  ;    \iobe    group    in,  61  ; 
"  Venus  de"  Medici  "   in,  85  ; 

Donatello's  works  in,  142  ;  della 

Robbia's    works    in,    146,     147  ; 

Rossellino's  works  in,  151,  152  ; 

Sansovino's    Bacchus    in,    185  ; 

carved     cherry-stone    in,     193  ; 

model      of      Michael     Angelo's 

David  in,  200  ;  statue  of  Michael 

Angelo  in,  211 
Uhden,   M.  d',  256 
Ulm,  wood-carvings  in,   162 
Urban  VIII.,  monument  of,  226 
Usurtasen,   Egyptian  sculptor,  2 


"XTAL  de  Grace,  church  of,  228 
*       Valladolid,  218 

Varchi,  211 

Vasari  and  Michael  Angelo,  210 

Vatican  ;  Eros  of  Centocelle  in,  60  ; 
Apoxyomenos  in,  70  ;  copy  of 
the  Laocoon  in,  74  ;  historic 
statue  in,  78  ;  Etruscan  table- 
ware in,  S3  ;  Chigi  Venus  in,  87  ; 
Apollo  Belvedere  in,  91  ;  "Young 
Augustus "  in,  103  ;  statue  of 
Augustus  in,  103  ;  sarcophagi  in, 
107  ;  statue  of  Perseus  in,  243 

Vendome  Column,  273 

Venice  ;  historic  statues  in,  78  ;  San- 
sovino  in,  186  ;  Canova's  heart 
in,  245 

Venus;  by  Alcamenes,  49  ;  by  Scopas, 
58  ;  of  Cnidos,  60  ;  and  the 
Romans,  84  ;  de'  Medici,  85  ; 
Cnidian,  85  ;  of  the  Capitol,  87  ; 
of  Milo  (Melos),  87  ;  of  Chigi, 
87  ;  Callipiga,  87  ;  by  Giovanni 
da  Bologna,  214  ;  by  Thorwald- 
sen,  257  (and  see  Aphrodite) 

Verocchio,  Andrea  del,   148,  155 

Verona,  156 

Versailles,  Puget's  works  in,  229 


Victoria ;  Gibson's  statue  of,  277 ; 
portraits  of,  by  Gibson,   277 

"Victories,"  by  Rauch,   271 

Victors,  statues  of,  29 

Villa  Borghese  ;  and  arch  of  Clau- 
dius, 98  ;  Bernini's  "Apollo  and 
Daphne"  in,  224 

Villa  Ludovisi,  Bernini's  "  Rape  of 
Proserpine"  in,  224 

Vinci,  Leonardo  da,  183 

Virgin  ;  by  Cano,  220  ;  by  Coysevox, 
229 

"Virtue    and   Vice  "  (Giovanni),  214 

Vischer,  Hermann,  171 

Vischer,  Peter,  171 

Vischers,  The,    171 

Visconti  Monument,  177 

Volsinii,  82 

Volto  Santo,  temple  of,   153 

Vulcan.      See  Hephaestus 

V\/"ALHALLA,  271  ;   "Victories" 
by  Rauch  in,  271 

Walther  von  der  Vogelweid,  115 

Washington,   Canova's  statue  of ,  245 

Wedgwood  and  Flaxman,  250 

Wells  Cathedral,  122 

Westmacott  ;  concerning  Bernini, 
224  ;  concerning  Flaxman,  252  ; 
concerning  mechanical  methods, 
280 

Westminster  AJ^bev,  121,  277 

Wichmann,  Ludwig,  272 

Wilkens,  267 

Wilson,  Heath,  211 

Winckelmann,  235 

"  Wise  Virgins,"  by  Krafift,  170 

Wittenberg,  monument  in,  175  ;  Lu- 
ther's statue  in,  269 

Wohlgemuth,  Michael,  166 

Wolff,   270 

Wolfram  of  Strasburg,  115 

Wood-carving  in  fifteenth  century, 
162 


!AK 


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LD21A-50m-3.'62                                ,,    .G«"."a' fj^'jap'     . 
(C70978lO)476B                                University  of  California 

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YD040644 


